Marketing in the world of AI discovery & mediation

Half of all consumers now use AI-powered search. That's not a projection—it's McKinsey's finding from October 2025 (a report that Prashant & I have referenced previously). The firm estimates this behavioral shift puts $750 billion in consumer spending at stake by 2028.

The internet has quietly bifurcated. On one side: the Human Internet we've known for decades, where people browse websites, scroll social feeds, and encounter ads. On the other: the AI Internet, where AI systems retrieve, synthesize, and deliver answers directly to users who never click a single link. Yep - the Internet has split in two.

The speed of the shift

An Evercore survey captured the velocity of change: preference for ChatGPT over Google for search grew 8x in less than half a year, reaching 8% of consumers. More striking, eMarketer reports that AI now introduces product recommendations in roughly one-third of conversations—even when users aren't explicitly shopping.

Consumers have stopped searching for options. They're searching for answers.

Two internets, two marketing disciplines

On the Human Internet, traditional digital marketing still applies. SEO, paid media, conversion optimization, and content marketing remain relevant for reaching people who browse, click, and scroll.

On the AI Internet, a new discipline has emerged: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) (AKA GEO or LLMO or perhaps even EIEIO?). Where SEO optimizes for Google's ranking algorithm, GEO optimizes for LLM comprehension and citation. The success metric shifts from click-through rate to whether your brand gets mentioned—accurately—in an AI-generated response.

The difference is stark. Google shows links. LLMs provide synthesized answers, often without attribution. If your content isn't structured for AI consumption, you're invisible in the fastest-growing discovery channel.

What marketers must do differently

The AI Internet rewards a different kind of content strategy:

• Clarity over cleverness: LLMs parse literal meaning, not marketing spin

• Completeness over compression: Every product nuance must be documented

• Structure over style: Organized, factual content trains better AI understanding

• Truth over persuasion: AI systems increasingly fact-check and cross-reference

Optimizely's November 2025 research found 62% of marketers recognize click-less journeys have arrived—but only 27% feel prepared.

The opportunity in the gap

That 35-point readiness gap represents both risk and opportunity. Brands that master AI Search visibility now will own the AI-mediated conversations shaping purchase decisions. Those that wait will find themselves absent from the answers their customers receive.

The marketers who thrive won't be the ones with the cleverest campaigns. They'll be the ones who ensure AI systems understand exactly what makes their offerings unique—for every user, every use case, every query.

That's 1:1 Marketing finally realized. Just delivered by the everything machines.