According to BrightEdge, AI engines like ChatGPT with browsing turned on now account for a full third of the search traffic directed at brands. These aren’t just idle queries; they’re active, intent-driven searches often initiated by users asking for recommendations, research, or comparisons. The bots are taking over the Googling we once did ourselves, scanning websites and surfacing picks faster than any human could slog through reviews. What’s more, this report doesn’t even include the newly launched ChatGPT Agent, which operates in a full virtual desktop environment.
Beyond agentic AI itself, the need for marketers to rethink their search playbook is reaching fever pitch hype. Traditional SEO aimed at topping Google results is no longer enough. Now comes GEO or AEO (generative or answer engine optimization) … where brands fine-tune content with structured data and user intent in mind to rank high in AI-generated answers. Instead of trying to win a keyword war, brands now need to convince an LLM why their product is the smart choice. Meanwhile, the bots themselves are becoming the platforms, with ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Claude quietly becoming the new gatekeepers of brand discovery.
But with great bot power comes great bot risk. BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu flagged possible dangers like transparency gaps and prompt injection attacks that could skew results or manipulate outputs. Still, AI’s ability to cross-reference and assess content quality may help elevate credible brands—if they play the long game. For marketers, that means doubling down on trustworthy content and closely monitoring how AI represents their offerings in this new, algorithmic word-of-mouth ecosystem.
Read more at CNET.