Is AI Changing Marketing?

The teams at Vitara and Crucible attended two significant AI events this month – Google's AI x s360 summit and Profound's Zero Click event in London.

One thing became undeniably clear:

AI isn't just changing how people search. It's completely rewriting the rules of how brands get discovered, trusted, and chosen.

We're entering a new era. An era where AI is the gatekeeper of attention and the marketer's role is evolving to match. Here's what we learnt and what your brand needs to do next.

AI Is Becoming the Primary Discovery Engine

From Search Engine to Answer Engine

Consumers are no longer simply "searching" – they're asking.

AI is becoming the first step in the discovery journey for more than half of all users.

Whether someone is looking for the best laser skin treatment or a trusted Health consultant, they increasingly turn to tools like Google's AI Overview or ChatGPT.

These zero-click answers deliver condensed, credible responses that bypass websites entirely. The AI curates and serves the result, and the user never leaves the interface.

What's more, two powerful new types of intent are emerging:

• No Intent: When users are passively served AI suggestions before they even search
• Generative Intent: Where users expect AI to create tailored solutions, not just retrieve information

This shift is seismic. It demands a radical rethink of how, and where, marketing visibility happens.

Discovery Happens Off-Site

Your homepage may not be your most important asset anymore.

From TikTok to Google to ChatGPT, users are discovering, trusting, and even converting inside platforms powered by generative AI. The discovery funnel has flattened.

AI might show your service, your review, or your testimonial before a user even thinks to visit your site.

Your brand needs to live and breathe in these third-party ecosystems, with content that AI systems recognise as trustworthy and relevant.

Content and Creative Must Be Structured for AI

Earned Visibility Is Now Essential

AI doesn't just scrape your website. It evaluates a web of third-party signals – from media articles to reviews and citations to community discussion.

To appear in AI-generated answers, your brand must be referenced across the open web.

That means investing in earned media and reputation signals that support credibility. And it goes deeper than PR – it's about how your brand is understood algorithmically.

Tone matters too. AI favours:

• Emotional clarity
• Balanced sentiment
• Structured, factual communication

Creative Intelligence = Competitive Advantage

In Meta's ecosystem, new AI tools like Gem and Andromeda aren't just showing ads but they're learning from them.

Every creative you launch becomes a data point.

Every variation teaches the algorithm who your audience is.

Brands that produce authentic, diverse, and multi-format content will outperform those relying on static assets. Think Reels, Testimonials & Carousels.

The creative is no longer the output. It's the input that powers your discoverability.

AI Advertising Is the Next Paid Frontier

Google's AI Overview Will Include Paid Ads

In perhaps the biggest change to paid media since AdWords launched, Google is now testing ads inside its AI Overviews. Ads placed above, within, and below AI-generated answers.

Imagine someone searches:

"How to improve gut health naturally"

Rather than showing traditional text ads, Google's AI might include your wellness brand inside its curated response. These new placements are contextual, conversational, and deeply embedded.

It's not about keyword bidding anymore. It's about being relevant, trusted, and valuable within the AI's logic.

ChatGPT Is Entering the Discovery Race Too

OpenAI's integrations (from Etsy to Instacart) are only the beginning. Soon, users will book services, buy products, and find recommendations all within ChatGPT itself.

It's becoming a new marketplace. And that means:

• Brands must start thinking of ChatGPT as a search platform
• The right plugin, schema markup, or AI-ready description could be your next big traffic source

AI is commercialising and the winners will be those who show up early, credibly, and often.

Brands Must Adapt Their Strategy and Infrastructure

The Funnel Is Flattening

AI is collapsing the traditional marketing funnel into one seamless interface.

Your next customer may:

• Discover your brand inside TikTok
• Read a review in Reddit or Trustpilot
• See you featured in ChatGPT's response
• And book

All without ever visiting your homepage.

The power to shape visibility now lies upstream – in your structured content, your reviews, your earned media, and your creative footprint.

Be Ready Before the Switch Flips

If you wait until AI discovery is mainstream, you're already late.

Here's what proactive brands are doing now:

• Structuring their websites with semantic URLs and schema data
• Building content that's technically clear and emotionally resonant
• Diversifying creative output across formats and platforms
• Investing in third-party trust and media credibility
• Preparing for AI-native ad formats before they become the default

Conclusion: AI Isn't Replacing Marketers. It's Rewarding the Adaptive

AI is not the enemy of marketing. It's the evolution of it.

The brands that evolve their structure, their strategy, and their storytelling to align with AI ecosystems won't just survive, they'll lead.

The rest risk being invisible in the new digital age.

At Vitara Digital, we're already helping our clients prepare for this future. So, when AI decides what to show the world, it chooses them.