AI Discovery Is Rewriting the Rules of Visibility
Optimizely’s latest report confirms what many marketers have quietly suspected: the internet no longer revolves around search engines—it revolves around AI. Generative platforms are now the gatekeepers of discovery, summarizing, ranking, and often deciding which brands deserve attention. In this new environment, visibility doesn’t just mean showing up in search results; it means being surfaced by artificial intelligence itself.
The company’s new global study, released today, surveyed more than 1,000 marketing leaders and 1,300 consumers across seven markets. The findings expose a widening gap between recognition and readiness. While 62% of marketers agree that “click-less” discovery—where consumers rely on AI summaries rather than website clicks—is already here, only 27% say they’re prepared to compete in this new environment.
AI Is the New Front Door of the Internet
Consumers are no longer starting their buying journey with Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, or Perplexity for advice, recommendations, and comparisons. Those tools don’t send users to dozens of sites—they deliver one answer. That single answer is where brand visibility lives or dies.
“If you’re not optimized for AI, you’re invisible,” said Tara Corey, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Optimizely. “Consumers are using AI tools as the entry point to the internet. They’re making buying decisions before they ever visit your site. Brands debating whether AI optimization is a priority are already behind.”
That sense of urgency is reflected across the report’s data. Nearly 67% of consumers now use AI tools to research products, with those aged 18–44 leading the trend. Younger generations are three to four times more likely than older users to depend on AI daily for shopping or research, signaling that this shift is not temporary—it’s generational.
The Readiness Gap Widens
Marketers clearly see what’s coming but struggle to act. Only 39% rank Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—the process of improving visibility within AI-generated summaries—as a top-three marketing priority in the next year. Meanwhile, most still rely on traditional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics, unaware that algorithms trained by AI models operate differently than search crawlers.
Compounding the issue, 75% of marketing leaders admit they have little or no confidence in how their brand is represented in AI responses. Yet, 4 in 10 consumers say they would trust an AI-generated summary without visiting a company’s website. One-third of consumers have already made a purchase based solely on an AI recommendation—and of those, 87% were satisfied with what they bought.
Trust Still Belongs to Recognizable Brands
Familiar names still matter. Thirty-one percent of consumers say they’re more likely to trust an AI-generated summary if it references a brand they already know. Another third want a mix of brand identity and detailed product information. The rest rely entirely on the clarity of the AI’s explanation itself.
That dynamic creates both opportunity and risk. Brands with established credibility will benefit from recognition in AI results. Smaller or newer brands could struggle to be mentioned at all. Only one in four marketers expressed confidence that current AI summaries accurately reflect their content, meaning most are relying on algorithms to interpret their message without supervision.
The Hidden HR Problem: Marketers Are Losing Patience
Perhaps the most alarming finding isn’t technical—it’s human. Two-thirds of marketing leaders said they would consider leaving their current company within a year if no AI or GEO strategy is developed. Only 4% said the absence of an AI plan wouldn’t affect their decision to stay. Lack of adaptation is no longer just a business risk; it’s a talent retention problem.
The concerns are diverse. Twenty-five percent worry about legal or compliance issues. Another 20% fear outdated or incorrect content being presented by AI systems. Others cite reduced traffic, loss of message control, or measurement challenges. Together, these anxieties point to a fragmented industry—one that knows change is happening but lacks a unified approach to address it.
Optimizely’s Role in the Shift
Optimizely, long known for its experimentation and digital experience tools, is positioning itself as a solution hub for this transition. Its platform, Optimizely One, functions as an integrated operating system for marketing teams—combining content management, personalization, commerce, and experimentation in one workflow. The company’s focus is clear: simplify the way marketers adapt, publish, and analyze performance in the age of AI discovery.
By connecting content creation directly to performance data, Optimizely is helping brands identify how they’re being summarized by generative engines and how to improve that visibility. As AI continues to rewrite the rules of search, those who treat GEO with the same seriousness as SEO may have the upper hand.
Optimizely’s report, titled “The Click-Less Customer,” offers both a warning and a roadmap. It shows that consumer behavior has already changed, and waiting for “proof” of AI’s impact could mean losing both traffic and trust. The new front door to the internet is open—but only to those who are ready to be seen.