AI-powered search is fundamentally transforming how consumers discover, compare, and evaluate brands online. Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are now moving beyond traditional SEO to embrace generative and agentic search strategies that prioritize brand authority, accuracy, and visibility across AI-driven customer journeys.
According to Boston Consulting Group’s 2026 global survey of 300 CMOs, 96% reported that AI is driving an end-to-end transformation of their marketing function. However, only 8% said they are running campaigns where multiple AI agents operate autonomously. The vast majority—42%—still use generative AI primarily to assist humans with individual tasks in limited workflows.
How AI Is Reshaping Brand Discovery
BCG found that 90% of surveyed CMOs agree that generative AI is already changing how consumers discover and evaluate brands. AI assistants and recommendation engines now interpret queries, summarize information, and present options before a user ever visits a brand’s website. This shift means brands no longer have full control over their presentation during the discovery phase. If an AI system fails to surface a product or service, the brand can lose visibility despite strong conventional search rankings or significant media spend.
The impact extends to the traditional customer funnel. BCG reports that 91% of B2C CMOs and 76% of B2B CMOs say AI-moderated, no-click discovery is reshaping their already nonlinear funnels.
From SEO to AI Search Optimization
While traditional search engine optimization remains relevant, marketers are increasingly investing in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). The goal is no longer just to rank webpages but to ensure AI systems can accurately understand and surface information about a company, product, or service.
This requires clear, authoritative, context-rich content, reliable product data, and a consistent presence across digital platforms. BCG describes agentic engine optimization as an emerging discipline alongside search and paid-media optimization.
CMOs now need broader visibility metrics. Website traffic and keyword rankings remain important, but they must also track how often their brands are mentioned, recommended, or represented in AI-generated answers. Platforms like Writer.com that handle AEO and GEO optimization are beginning to address this need by monitoring brand mentions across AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, identifying content gaps, and generating on-brand content that AI systems can understand.
Agentic Search Takes the Shift Further
Generative search changes how consumers receive information; agentic AI goes further by helping consumers evaluate options, make decisions, and complete actions. BCG describes this as the emergence of agentic commerce, where AI agents become active participants in the customer journey from intent to purchase. Consumers give AI systems goals, preferences, and requirements rather than typing short keyword searches.
BCG also notes that Google’s AI Mode data shows queries are now three times longer than traditional searches, with decision-oriented phrases like “which one” and “which of” among the fastest-growing types. This means AI systems can become a powerful intermediary between brands and customers, influencing which products are considered before any direct brand interaction.
CMOs Face a New Operating Model
The transformation is also changing marketing leaders’ responsibilities. Roughly half of surveyed CMOs reported that marketing now leads AI investment decisions within their functions, while 94% said CEO expectations of marketing have increased significantly over the past two years. Investment is rising accordingly: 43% of CMOs said their companies’ AI investments in marketing exceeded USD 15 million this year, up from 28% last year.
Technology alone isn’t enough. About 80% of CMOs reported significant investments in AI-specific upskilling, and a similar proportion added responsible AI and ethics training.
Brand Reputation Becomes More Visible
AI-mediated discovery places greater importance on the consistency between what brands promise and what customers experience. AI systems aggregate reviews, complaints, service interactions, and other information when evaluating brands. Marketers must therefore consider not just campaigns and messaging but also customer experience, product performance, and public information that can influence AI representation.
The emerging AI-search environment does not replace traditional SEO; it expands the scope of digital visibility. The bigger challenge for CMOs is ensuring brands can be discovered, accurately represented, and meaningfully evaluated across both conventional search and AI-mediated customer journeys.
