Not Google, Consumers Are Asking AI Before Shopping. Brands Are Scrambling

For years, brands fought fiercely for Google's first page. Now, a new battle is underway.

Consumers are increasingly turning to AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for answers, recommendations, product comparisons and buying advice. Instead of scrolling through pages of links, they are asking a single question and receiving a curated answer in seconds.

For businesses, this shift is fundamentally changing how they attract customer attention.

"The whole browse-and-compare ritual that used to take minutes now takes seconds. AI assistants directly process the available options and hand you recommendations," said Ankit Kumar, Founder and CEO of Skye Air Mobility.

The implications are significant.

If search engines once acted as digital gateways, AI platforms are rapidly becoming trusted advisors. And the brands these systems recommend stand to gain a disproportionate share of customer attention.

The New Front Door

Kumar believes AI referrals are already replacing traditional entry points for many businesses.

"The data backs up what brands are already seeing: more people are asking ChatGPT or Perplexity for advice before they ever touch a company website," he said. "For many businesses, the AI referral has become the new front door."

This behavioural shift is forcing companies to rethink decade-old digital marketing playbooks. Traditional SEO (search engine optimisation) focused on helping websites rank higher on search results pages may lose relevance soon. 

This has given rise to a new discipline often referred to as Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), where companies structure information, publish authoritative content and improve data transparency so AI systems can accurately interpret and surface them.

But while interest in GEO is growing, experts say most companies are still figuring things out.

Market Still Learning The Rules

According to Ambika Sharma, Product Architect at Neuro Rank and Chief Strategist at Pulp Strategy, companies currently fall into three broad categories.

The first group has started experimenting with AI visibility through internal teams. The second is under pressure from leadership to show results but lacks the tools and frameworks needed to measure them. The third has yet to take the issue seriously, assuming traditional Google visibility will automatically translate into AI visibility.

"Given what our audits show about how these brands are currently being described, that assumption is expensive," Sharma said.

Her firm's broader GEO Benchmark Index, which studied 700 brands across 65 industries, found that 68 per cent of regulated brands were absent from AI-generated answers being given to their own customers.

"In a sector as sensitive to reputation and misselling as BFSI, that number is not a marketing statistic. It is a governance risk sitting unaddressed on most boards," she said.

The Hidden Cost Of Being Invisible

For brands, the biggest threat may not be negative coverage. It may be not appearing at all.

Consumers increasingly rely on AI-generated shortlists before making purchase decisions. If a company is missing from those recommendations, it may never enter the customer's consideration set.

"The AI engine compresses the comparison process and surfaces two or three options," Sharma said. "The brands not in the AI shortlist do not get a second chance."

This is particularly relevant in financial services, where customers often compare insurance plans, mutual funds, stockbroking platforms and lending products online before making decisions.

According to Sharma, AI visibility has become a commercial issue because the consumer journey is shrinking rapidly. Decisions that once took days or weeks can now be made within minutes.

That creates a winner-takes-all environment where visibility in AI-generated responses matters as much as - and in some cases more than - traditional search rankings.

When AI Gets It Wrong

The challenge, however, goes beyond visibility. It is also about accuracy.

Unlike conventional search engines, AI systems summarise and interpret information. When they get facts wrong, the consequences can be serious, especially in regulated sectors.

Sharma pointed to examples uncovered during audits.

In one case, AI systems cited an outdated claim settlement ratio for LIC despite newer figures being available. In another, Bajaj Finserv was reportedly described as a bank or a general lending NBFC, creating confusion around its regulatory structure. Zerodha, meanwhile, was absent from several AI-generated investment recommendations despite being India's largest retail stockbroker by active client count.

The issue, Sharma argued, is that customers often trust the AI's answer without knowing whether the information is current.

"A consumer comparing insurance plans on the basis of an AI answer is making a purchasing decision on a number that is materially wrong," she said.

The reputational fallout, however, lands on the company rather than the AI model.

"The brand did not author the description. The AI did. But when a customer acts on it and the product does not deliver what the AI promised, the complaint lands with the brand," Sharma said.

Beyond Marketing

The growing influence of AI search is also changing how companies think about trust.

According to Kumar, consumers arriving through AI recommendations behave differently from traditional website visitors. "When someone lands on your site after an AI pointed them there, they've already been told you're credible," he said.

This means discoverability is increasingly tied to authority, transparency and verifiable information.

Companies that publish expert content, maintain accurate records, clearly communicate compliance standards and make operational data accessible are more likely to earn favourable AI recommendations.

This is especially important in emerging industries such as drone logistics, where public trust is still developing.

"People asking which drone services are safe, reliable, or even legal in their area are getting answers shaped by what AI systems find and surface," Kumar said.

"If your safety record, operational data and regulatory compliance aren't visible and verifiable online, you're essentially letting competitors define the category without you."

The Next Corporate Governance Challenge

Industry observers increasingly believe AI visibility is evolving from a marketing issue into a boardroom issue.

Sharma argues that organisations need formal governance structures around how AI systems describe their brands, products and services.

"AI visibility governance is now a board-level discipline," she said. "Not a marketing campaign. Not a digital initiative."

Regulators in India have yet to issue detailed guidance on AI-generated misrepresentation of financial institutions. However, experts expect scrutiny to increase as AI becomes a mainstream discovery tool.

Companies that monitor AI responses, correct inaccuracies and maintain updated information across digital channels could gain an early advantage.

Those that ignore the issue risk losing visibility, customers and potentially trust.

The Future: AI Finds, Autonomous Systems Deliver

The transformation does not stop at discovery.

Kumar sees a future where AI-driven recommendations are matched by AI-powered fulfilment systems.

Consumers who receive instant answers increasingly expect instant service. This is accelerating investments in technologies such as autonomous drone delivery networks capable of moving products faster and with fewer traditional constraints.

"We're seeing a convergence," Kumar said. "AI handles the discovery and decision layer in seconds, and autonomous systems are beginning to handle the physical fulfilment layer at the same pace."

The result could reshape marketing, logistics and customer acquisition simultaneously.

"The winners won't just be the ones who show up in search," Kumar added. "They'll be the ones AI systems consistently recommend because their digital footprint is authoritative, and the ones who can actually deliver on that promise physically."

As AI increasingly becomes the first stop for consumer decisions, companies face a new reality. The race is no longer just about ranking on Google. It is about becoming the answer.