Search is changing, and customers are increasingly turning to AI to research, compare and discover brands. Marketers who are looking ahead, are starting to realize that just being visible on Google is no longer enough.
As an important piece in the new non-linear customer journey, ChatGPT is crucial for your brand's true discovery. So, why should you care if your brand shows up on ChatGPT? And why is it so important for your commercial momentum?
In the new era of search and discovery, brand marketers have to care about whether they show up in ChatGPT because of the growing share of LLM search - 37% of consumers now start searches with AI instead of Google - and ChatGPT commands the highest market share within that landscape (78%). In fact, ChatGPT recently surpassed 1 billion monthly and weekly active users, becoming the fastest-adopted application in history. The opportunity is too significant for brands not to jump on.
Not only are brands’ audiences likely using the platform, it has become a key part of discovery and the path to conversion. LLM searches either start as higher intent or quickly become that, with the conversational nature of the platforms; a customer can research and communicate with the platform to a point of conversion with shopping listings being surfaced in-platform, and making a purchase without leaving the app with Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which is an incoming feature.
If a brand is invisible or their brand perception is inaccurate, it suffers from a fundamental discoverability failure likely caused by one of three things:
Ultimately, true AI discoverability depends on being present, correctly understood and supported by the signals that build trust around your brand.
LLM platforms like ChatGPT are central to the discovery marketing landscape. They now sit across all touchpoints of the journey, helping guide customers through research and comparison through to conversion.
ChatGPT excels as the first-impression layer of modern discovery, shifting user behavior from searching to conversational consulting. By researching and communicating in-platform, users receive implicit recommendations on brands and products. However, many users loop back onto Google, Reddit or brand websites to validate information and keep moving through to conversion.
AI doesn’t exist in isolation. The brands that are most likely to appear in LLM responses are those already generating strong, consistent signals across their wider digital ecosystem. The visibility can create a virtuous cycle of its own.
Positive signals drive visibility. Visibility reinforces perception. And stronger perception can drive commercial performance as a result.
Brands will not have LLM visibility without being discoverable. Brands who are not discoverable will increasingly be struggling with commercial performance in the changing search landscape.
Overall, to boost both, brands need to ensure that:
Ultimately, being visible in AI search is not the end goal. It’s another route to being found, understood and chosen, and being truly discovered by your audience.
Salient’s suite of AI search tracking tools from Journey Further allows access to our own proprietary sentiment analysis system, to understand the general feeling around prompts and responses, as well as how brands are perceived within the content.
As an important piece in the new non-linear customer journey, ChatGPT is crucial for your brand's true discovery. So, why should you care if your brand shows up on ChatGPT? And why is it so important for your commercial momentum?
Why showing up on ChatGPT matters for brands
In the new era of search and discovery, brand marketers have to care about whether they show up in ChatGPT because of the growing share of LLM search - 37% of consumers now start searches with AI instead of Google - and ChatGPT commands the highest market share within that landscape (78%). In fact, ChatGPT recently surpassed 1 billion monthly and weekly active users, becoming the fastest-adopted application in history. The opportunity is too significant for brands not to jump on.
Not only are brands’ audiences likely using the platform, it has become a key part of discovery and the path to conversion. LLM searches either start as higher intent or quickly become that, with the conversational nature of the platforms; a customer can research and communicate with the platform to a point of conversion with shopping listings being surfaced in-platform, and making a purchase without leaving the app with Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which is an incoming feature.
What causes poor AI visibility and inaccurate brand perception
If a brand is invisible or their brand perception is inaccurate, it suffers from a fundamental discoverability failure likely caused by one of three things:
- Either the content they’re creating isn’t being perceived as relevant or authoritative enough to be surfaced by the LLM crawler
- The content can’t be found by the crawler due to technical limitations
- The brand is missing from the external ecosystem and not sending authoritative signals to the third party sources of influence relevant to the prompt set
Ultimately, true AI discoverability depends on being present, correctly understood and supported by the signals that build trust around your brand.
Where ChatGPT fits in the discovery journey
LLM platforms like ChatGPT are central to the discovery marketing landscape. They now sit across all touchpoints of the journey, helping guide customers through research and comparison through to conversion.
ChatGPT excels as the first-impression layer of modern discovery, shifting user behavior from searching to conversational consulting. By researching and communicating in-platform, users receive implicit recommendations on brands and products. However, many users loop back onto Google, Reddit or brand websites to validate information and keep moving through to conversion.
When AI visibility becomes a vital cog in commercial momentum
AI doesn’t exist in isolation. The brands that are most likely to appear in LLM responses are those already generating strong, consistent signals across their wider digital ecosystem. The visibility can create a virtuous cycle of its own.
Positive signals drive visibility. Visibility reinforces perception. And stronger perception can drive commercial performance as a result.
Brands will not have LLM visibility without being discoverable. Brands who are not discoverable will increasingly be struggling with commercial performance in the changing search landscape.
Overall, to boost both, brands need to ensure that:
- They’re creating the relevant, authoritative content required by the LLM's retrieval algorithms to be surfaced in prompt responses
- The content is easily crawlable and retrievable by the LLM crawlers through technical optimization
- They are sending consistent, positive brand signals to the external sources of influence relevant to their customers
Ultimately, being visible in AI search is not the end goal. It’s another route to being found, understood and chosen, and being truly discovered by your audience.
Salient’s suite of AI search tracking tools from Journey Further allows access to our own proprietary sentiment analysis system, to understand the general feeling around prompts and responses, as well as how brands are perceived within the content.
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People of Journey Further: Nyall Novakovic
