BY Kathy Crosett
Has consumer search behavior changed drastically since AI platforms gained prominence? It’s a question your accounts should be asking. Because SEO tactics and content marketing drive leads for your accounts, and they may need to make some changes. After all, AudienceSCAN reports that 24% of U.S. adults now use AI to search most of the time.
Who is using AI search the most?
Overall, 71% of consumers are using AI search technology more than they did a year ago. Some consumers are more likely to turn to AI search first. YEXT research points to consumers with $150K household income – 54.5% of them are AI-first searchers.
AudienceSCAN data supports this finding. And the top age group using AI tools for search is the 35 to 44-year-olds. YouGov reports that Gen Zers are also more likely to have at least tried AI search.
What are consumers using AI search for?
Consumers are using AI to search in several common verticals. Their biggest interests range from restaurant options (52%) to hotels (39%) to automotive (29%).
Consumers also have favorite tools for their AI searches. Currently, the primary AI tools for local research are ChatGPT (55%) and Google Gemini (27%) reports YEXT.
Do AI searches lead to a purchase?
But does all this AI searching lead to a purchase? Not very often. YEXT data links these searches to purchases only in 5% of cases. This finding emphasizes that your accounts are facing a new reality. Consumers are testing out AI. But they move to other tools to verify what they find on AI.
It’s important for your account’s content to show up for AI visibility. But your accounts also have to keep showing up as consumers verify what AI has shown them. Here’s where they are likely to look after receiving an AI-based recommendation, according to YEXT.
- Google search 53%
- Website 49%
- Citations 42%
- Reviews 28%
Yext analysts emphasize that “reviews are the conversion layer between an AI recommendation and an actual customer.” That’s because the following review factors influence purchases once AI has made a recommendation. The value of these review factors can’t be overlooked:
- Number of stars 34%
- Whether reviews are recent 28%
- Whether reviews are positive 26%
How can businesses gain new customers?
To gain new customers, your accounts have to be noticed. How do consumers make the decision to try a business that is new to them? Many times, they will learn of a new business online. Here are the top factors:
- Recommendations from friends/family 50%
- Google/Bing search 41%
- Online review 40%
- Social media 37%
Where does AI recommendation fall on the list? 28%. So clearly, the technology has a way to go.
For now, advertising remains an influencer on consumer purchases. AudienceSCAN reports that after seeing an ad, around 25% of U.S. adults will buy a product for the first time.
Your accounts need to optimize their content for SEO purposes. They also need to ask for and post online reviews. And they can’t overlook advertising. These elements work together to drive sales.
Does traditional search still matter?
YouGov reports that consumers continue to go online to access information, sometimes several times a day. Even consumers who go to AI tools first for searching also continue to use traditional search.
Interestingly, U.S. consumer search behavior is different from what happens in other countries. We tend to use AI search less when compared to consumers in other countries.
But once consumers begin to interact with the technology, their use rate increases. 51% of frequent AI searchers say they use the assistants more than they have in the past.
What type of content do consumers seek?
Your accounts can rise to the top of search lists and get a position in the AIO box by posting and optimizing content that matters.
Consumers use search to:
- Get an answer to their question 63%
- Verify information they found elsewhere 37%
- Summarize information 31%
- Compare options 29%
When is AI most useful?
Consumer search behavior has changed. Consumers definitely incorporate AI into their search patterns, either before or after they see what surfaces from the traditional search.
For example, YouGov reports that 32% use AI after they’ve obtained information from another form of search.
According to AudienceSCAN, 43% of AI-first searchers believe AI can be a wonderful tool to assist them in everyday life. But these consumers continue to notice advertising. The top traditional advertising influence on these consumers is streaming TV. In the past 30 days, nearly 58% of these consumers have taken action as a result of a streaming TV ad. The top action taken, for 50%, is a search on an AI tool.
This trend is a reminder about what your accounts must do to stay top-of-mind with their target audience. The content they develop must be discoverable by AI tools. And it should also appear in traditional search results.
How are B2B decision-makers using search?
Remind your B2B accounts that senior B2B decision-makers are also checking out information found by AI platforms in addition to what they see in traditional search results. For example, our most recent B2B BuyerSCAN survey finds that 22% use AI to make better purchasing decisions.
Consumer search behavior continues to shift as AI tools become more prevalent and user-friendly. If your accounts are not optimizing their content to appear in an AI overview, they should be. But don’t let them underinvest in traditional search marketing. You can show them where they stand by running a Digital Audit in AdMall.
Image by Vlad Bagacian on Pexels.
