Google. One answer, not ten links.
For 25 years Google sold us choice. AI search gives one recommendation, and whoever it picks wins.
THE GIST ON GOOGLE: "One Answer, Not Ten Links"
Is Google losing its grip?
Google has been the front door to the internet for 25 years, but 44% of people who use AI now say they prefer it. The blue links are dying. The answer is replacing the question, because people don't want to search, they just want answers.
What did Google do for 25 years?
Google launched in 1998. Ask a question, get a load of links, pick one. It's now a verb. For 25 years it was the architecture of the internet, and whole industries were built around reaching the top of that list. Google sold the world choice.
What changes with AI search?
Four years ago we got ChatGPT. AI search doesn't give you ten links, it gives you one answer. 50% of Google searches already have an AI summary at the top, and it will be 75% in two years.
The new game is GEO, Generative Engine Optimization. Brands now have to optimise to be recommended, not found.
Can you trust the answer?
AI just reads the internet, and half the sources it reads are affiliate blogs, sites that get paid every time you click through and buy. Your neutral recommendation is paid content in a new coat.
76% of UK adults used AI in the last three months, and nearly half prefer it over Google for buying recommendations. A projected $750 billion will flow through AI search by 2028.
What have we traded?
We outsourced curation to Google 25 years ago. Now we're outsourcing the decision itself. When you're searching, the options are legion. When AI is searching, there's the answer or invisibility. Whoever the AI picks wins.
We've traded a million possibilities for one recommendation and called it convenience. Is it?
Do you trust an AI answer over a list of links?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimization: optimising so that AI recommends your brand, rather than so that people find it.
How many Google searches show an AI summary?
50% already, and Huw says it will be 75% in two years.
Why is AI search not neutral?
Half the sources AI reads are affiliate blogs paid on every click-through sale, so a neutral recommendation can be paid content.
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