Inside the AI-Powered Search Revolution Changing Customer Behavior

Austin Rulfs had a problem. A client for his firm, Zanda Wealth, needed a property investment company recommendation, but instead of turning to Google like countless others before him, he opened ChatGPT. And what happened next shows us exactly how AI-powered search is changing business discovery right under most owners’ noses.

“They could use an AI platform such as ChatGPT to obtain a more personalized suggestion that matches their particular requirements,” he explains. “The AI sent a list of companies that would provide property investment services with a more detailed knowledge of their specific situation, which could not be obtained by a regular Google search.”

The AI recommended a small brokerage firm that Rulfs “never would have discovered in regular search engines.” A business invisible to Google’s top rankings suddenly became the perfect match. 

So while the big companies with deep marketing pockets pour money and resources into SEO rankings, there’s a parallel economy developing where visibility operates by different rules entirely—and the playing field is evening out.

Your Customer’s Brain Is Wired To Choose the Easier Path

Understanding why customers are making this switch requires us to look at how the human brain works. A University College London study published in eLife confirmed what many marketers have long suspected: humans are neurologically wired to avoid cognitive effort. To put it bluntly, most of us are lazy. 

We’re not here to judge, but we do want business owners to know what will make their business most successful as customer acquisition changes.

The study found that when researchers made decision-making tasks even slightly more difficult, participants unconsciously changed their perception to justify taking the easier path.

“Our brain tricks us into believing the low-hanging fruit really is the ripest,” says Dr. Nobuhiro Hagura, who led the UCL research. “We found that not only does the cost to act influence people’s behaviour, but it even changes what we think we see.”

Ryan McClellan sees this exact pattern in his marketing work with Character Counter. “Any process that feels easy, and our brain treats it as cognitive ease, is what consumers are drawn to. So, it’s not surprising to see many of them turning to AI for web search.”

Traditional Search Engines Create Work, AI Eliminates It

The difference becomes a little clearer when you compare the two experiences. Traditional Google searches create what psychologists call “cognitive load”—the mental effort required to process multiple options, compare results, and synthesize information. 

AI eliminates this burden entirely.

MoveBuddha CEO Ryan Carrigan noticed the difference immediately. “Instead of getting articles and blogs listing businesses according to what they think of them, you get a sort of like a curated list of recommendations, not just a name but actual meaningful context as well. Making the selection process a lot easier to manage.”

What we’re witnessing is more than simple preference. The UCL research shows that the cost to act influences people’s behaviour, but it can also change what we think we see. When AI-powered search makes business discovery effortless, customers don’t just prefer it—their brains literally perceive AI recommendations as more trustworthy than harder-to-process Google results.

Ivan Burban experienced this firsthand when his team at Coupler.io needed an influencer marketing platform. “AI recommendations on tools save a lot of time compared to manual Googling. Even though you spend time on chatting and evaluating a solution, you’ll get more precise and condensed information, helping with further steps.”

We are amidst the birth of conversational commerce, where business discovery happens through dialogue rather than search, which also means the implications for trust-building are profound.

Where Does Customer Trust Go When Search Engines Feel Rigged?

The switchover to AI-powered search goes deeper than just convenience. Something unprecedented is happening in the trust economy. Customers are transferring authority from websites to algorithms, often without conscious awareness.

Austin Rulfs explains his reasoning. “I feel much more comfortable with the suggestions of the AI, knowing that it has access to a wide range of data sources, and is not merely affected by the SEO strategies.”

Customers have grown somewhat suspicious of search engine optimization. They’ve become aware that Google results can be gamed to some extent, but they perceive AI as more neutral. A deeper psychological mechanism is at work here.

The Illusion of AI Objectivity

Marketing coach Robb Hecht discovered this when researching fractional CFO services. “The tone felt less biased, more objective, likely because it was pulling from multiple, cross-channel sources rather than SEO-optimized landing pages. In fact, I discovered a boutique firm I’d never have found via traditional search.”

The trust transfer is based on a cognitive bias called the “illusion of objectivity.” Because AI synthesizes multiple sources instead of presenting a ranked list, customers perceive it as more balanced—even though AI systems can be just as biased as any other algorithm.

Why Customers Now Verify Instead of Search

The verification process shows equally important patterns. Ryan from PropFirmsCompared describes what he’s observing. “Users ask ChatGPT for things like trading strategies, tips to pass prop firm challenges, or general advice about the industry. That first layer of discovery is happening inside AI tools. From there, they come to our site to explore firms or validate what they read.”

There’s a new pattern developing—the AI-to-website pipeline. Customers use AI-powered search for discovery, then visit websites for validation. The sequence reverses traditional search behavior completely.

Trust isn’t universal, though. Ryan Carrigan has specific requirements. “I only trust the suggestions when they come with a very specific ‘why this recommendation,’ and if it is easy enough to verify the details, like with Gemini, which highlights parts where you can go straight to the website.”

Transparency builds trust in AI recommendations. Customers want to see the reasoning behind suggestions, not just the suggestions themselves. However, there are still a few vulnerabilities in this new system.

Michael Nawrocki has encountered significant problems while researching for IKOL. “I’ve had multiple instances where I was directed to a non-existent company website, got a recommendation for permanently closed businesses, or got told that a certain company offers a specific service—even though it’s not present in their service lists anywhere across the Internet.”

We’re in a transitional trust period where AI-powered search credibility is high but verification systems are still developing. Smart businesses are positioning themselves to be easily verifiable when AI sends customers their way.

AI Cares More About Who You Are Than What You Sell

According to a few folks we spoke with, personalities appear to beat corporations in AI recommendations. Meaning—AI doesn’t just find companies but surfaces personalities, philosophies, and human connections. The traditional corporate approach is losing ground to personal branding and authentic expertise.

Jack Goodson (aka The Identity Consultant) experienced this transformation firsthand. “One of my earliest post-ChatGPT clients found me by asking the tool: ‘Who’s a strategic brand consultant in the UK who helps founders reinvent themselves?’ They didn’t Google it—they didn’t even want an agency. They wanted a person who felt like the right fit. Someone whose tone, worldview, and track record aligned.”

Is Identity Becoming Your New SEO Strategy?

Goodson calls this phenomenon the development of “semantic identity.” As he explains, “We’re entering a new era of AI visibility, where discovery is based not on SEO keywords but on semantic identity. Those who define themselves clearly now are the ones being ‘encoded’ faster into these systems. AI doesn’t just find businesses… it recommends personas.”

Alexandra Botezatu from Narrio confirms this pattern from a different angle. “We’re seeing a real shift in how people search for expertise, not just businesses. When using AI tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity, the answers often highlight people (founders, subject matter experts, operators) alongside company websites.”

This development creates a massive advantage for personal brands and founder-led companies. While corporations struggle to differentiate themselves in AI recommendations, individuals with clear viewpoints and consistent messaging are becoming significantly more discoverable.

Alexandra explains the mechanism. “Instead of a Google result with a polished landing page or a G2 review, you get surfaced to the thinking behind a company, the people driving the product, their perspectives, and how they engage publicly.”

Optimizing for discovery now means optimizing human personalities for AI understanding rather than optimizing content for search engines. AI-powered search rewards authenticity and consistency over polish.

Local Businesses Are Winning or Losing Overnight

Something dramatic is happening in local business discovery that most owners haven’t noticed. The rules of visibility are being rewritten in real-time, creating massive winners and losers almost overnight.

Maureen Darrah from Sixth City Marketing has been tracking this phenomenon across 15 clients. “Based on my client’s data, the websites with the biggest increases in traffic and leads or ecommerce orders are in the B2C ecommerce space or local businesses (especially home services).”

In fact, one of Darrah’s clients, ConsoleVault.com, saw sessions from AI tools grow “5,800% year-over-year—from only 8 sessions in 2024 to 472 sessions so far in 2025. More importantly, these sessions have generated meaningful results: 12 ecommerce purchases, contributing over $4,000 in revenue to date this year.”

Here’s what’s driving this massive shift: AI-powered search systems are pulling from different ranking signals than Google entirely. While still effective, traditional SEO tactics are becoming less relevant while trust signals gain prominence.

Getting Found Locally – SEO? BBB Ratings? Yelp?

Maureen discovered specific patterns through her client work. “For local businesses, I’ve noticed that queries prompt the AI tools to commonly look at Yelp, so I’ve shifted my strategy to make sure that not only are my local clients on Yelp, but they are verified, the profile is filled out as much as possible, and that they have some reviews on the profile.”

Even more telling was her experience with a roofing client. “Prompts were primarily showing businesses with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating (especially the phrase ‘A+ Better Business Bureau rating’ had to be included on the homepage).”

AI is creating a parallel ranking system based on trust signals rather than SEO signals. While Google prioritizes backlinks and keyword optimization, AI systems prioritize credibility markers like BBB ratings and complete Yelp profiles.

Chris Shirlow from FourHorse Digital experienced this with a painting company client. “We saw a noticeable drop in clicks from organic search. When we tested queries in ChatGPT, we realized the tool was surfacing competitors by name, completely bypassing traditional search rankings.”

Local businesses that haven’t optimized for AI discovery are becoming systematically invisible, while those that have are capturing disproportionate market share. As AI adoption accelerates, the gap between AI-optimized and AI-invisible businesses will likely compound exponentially.

B2B Buyers Are Finally Starting To Trust Machines

B2B AI adoption is lagging behind consumer behavior, but early indicators suggest this gap is closing. The stakes are higher in business purchasing decisions, which explains the cautious approach.

Maureen Darrah’s data gives a little insight into what’s currently happening. “A B2B ecommerce client of mine received only a few sessions from organic AI so far this year. Shows me that consumers are starting to use AI to search for products, but not on a business level just yet.”

However, the psychology is changing among early adopters. Ivan Burban is a perfect example of this evolving mindset. “ChatGPT quickly helped indicate the key decision factors per platform, which made the list of suitable software shorter. With a following chat (giving more context, requirements), we ended up with the solution.”

B2B buyers are increasingly using AI for preliminary research while maintaining traditional methods for final validation. A two-stage funnel is developing: 

  1. AI for discovery.
  2. Traditional processes for verification.

The verification stage remains crucial. “We could find this solution on our own for sure, though we would waste time on testing those platforms that 100% weren’t a fit (and it wasn’t clear just from visiting their website).”

Ryan from PropFirmsCompared is preparing for the inevitable acceleration. “We’re now building an AI-driven product matcher that flips the old model. Instead of ‘fill out a form and browse the table,’ users will interact with a smart assistant that understands their goals and gives personalised recommendations.”

Keyword-Driven Strategies Weaken as Conversations Become King

The content strategies that built online businesses over the past decade are becoming obsolete, but most businesses have yet to realize this. The shift demands a complete philosophical transformation in how companies approach content creation.

Robb Hecht explains the fundamental change. “As consumers shift from search to synthesis, businesses need to rethink their content—less keyword stuffing, more clarity, transparency, and true value. AI is rewarding quality signals, not just ranking signals.”

Instead of creating content for search engine algorithms, businesses must now create content for AI comprehension and synthesis. The difference is profound and far-reaching.

Victor André Enselmann from Modeva describes how this shift changed their entire approach. 

“AI tools aren’t showing a list of the top 10 optimized pages. They synthesize content from across the web and present a curated answer. That’s forced us to shift our SEO efforts toward entity-building, reputation signals, and long-form, citation-worthy content that AI can reference confidently.”

We’re witnessing the death of “SEO content” and the birth of “AI-synthesizable content.” SEO content is designed to rank for specific queries, while AI-synthesizable content is designed to be understood, referenced, and recommended by AI systems.

Jenna Nelson from HerAIgency is building an entire business around this transition. “Consumers are shifting from traditional keyword-based Google searches to conversational queries through AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Siri, and Alexa. Why? Because these platforms deliver answers faster and more efficiently—often in a single, synthesized response.”

The practical implications are significant. “We do this through conversational content optimization (replacing rigid SEO tactics with natural language queries), Advanced schema markup and structured data, FAQ-driven content strategies designed for AI Overviews and answer boxes.”

Nelson’s client, Attorney Nathan Moore, exemplifies this shift perfectly. “If you go to Google and type ‘Gun Rights Restoration Nashville, TN,’ he’s not the first organic result because Google still tends to prioritize paid ads, big brands, or highly competitive SEO plays. But if you ask ChatGPT: ‘Who can help me get my gun rights restored in Nashville, TN?’ Nathan’s firm is the top recommendation.”

Success now isn’t beholden to one discovery avenue. Maybe you’re the best answer, not the highest-ranking result. At WordAgents, we truly believe content creation is shifting from keyword targeting to expertise demonstration.

How To Position Your Business Before It’s Too Late

Based on our analysis of expert insights and emerging patterns, we thought it only practical to offer a roadmap so you can take action now.

Your 12-Step Roadmap to AI-Powered Search Discovery

Immediate Actions (This Week)

  1. Audit Your AI Discoverability: Test how AI systems currently find your business. Ask ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity specific questions a potential customer might ask. Document what appears and what doesn’t.
  2. Optimize Your Yelp Presence: Following Maureen Darrah’s insights, ensure your Yelp profile is verified, complete, and has recent reviews. AI systems heavily reference Yelp for local business recommendations.
  3. Highlight Credibility Markers: Add your BBB rating, certifications, and awards prominently to your homepage. Use exact phrase formats AI systems recognize (e.g., “A+ Better Business Bureau rating”).

Strategic Development (This Month)

  1. Develop Your Semantic Identity: Following Jack Goodson’s advice, clearly define your philosophical position, worldview, and unique approach. AI systems recommend personalities, not just companies.
  2. Create AI-Synthesizable Content: Replace keyword-stuffed content with clear, expert-level explanations that AI can easily understand and reference. Focus on being quotable and citation-worthy.
  3. Build Thought Leadership Visibility: Following Alexandra Botezatu’s insights, ensure key personnel have visible expert voices through LinkedIn articles, industry commentary, and speaking engagements.

Advanced Positioning (Next 90 Days)

  1. Implement Conversational Content Strategy: Rewrite key pages to answer the types of questions customers ask AI systems, using natural language rather than SEO keyword density.
  2. Establish Cross-Platform Authority: Get featured in industry publications, podcasts, and expert roundups. AI systems reference these third-party validations when making recommendations.
  3. Optimize for Verification: Make it easy for AI-referred customers to verify your expertise. Clear case studies, client testimonials, and specific outcomes should be prominently displayed.

Long-Term AI Integration (6 Months)

  1. Develop AI-First Customer Touchpoints: Following Ryan from PropFirmsCompared’s example, consider building AI-powered tools that help customers while positioning your expertise.
  2. Monitor AI Recommendation Patterns: Track which competitors AI systems recommend and analyze why. Adjust your positioning to capture missed opportunities.
  3. Prepare for AI-Website Integration: As AI systems become more sophisticated, they’ll likely integrate more directly with websites. Ensure your technical infrastructure can support this evolution.

Why Most Businesses Will Struggle With This Transition

The shift to AI-powered search and discovery fundamentally changes how businesses need to position themselves in the marketplace. Most companies are still optimizing for yesterday’s search behavior, while tomorrow’s customers are already using AI systems that evaluate businesses through completely different criteria.

The first challenge is understanding new discovery patterns. Implementation means building and executing content strategies that perform across both traditional search engines and AI recommendation systems simultaneously. Success demands a sophisticated understanding of how AI systems process and synthesize information, combined with the ability to create content that builds authority across multiple platforms.

Most businesses lack several critical capabilities:

  1. The research expertise to track how AI systems currently perceive their industry
  2. The content creation skills to produce AI-synthesizable materials
  3. The strategic framework to position themselves for both current and emerging discovery channels.

The Content Strategy Gap

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. The businesses thriving in this transition share common characteristics: they’ve developed content strategies explicitly built for AI comprehensibility and cross-platform authority building. 

They understand that success in the AI discovery era requires more than understanding customer psychology—it demands the ability to research, create, and optimize content that performs in an increasingly complex discovery ecosystem.

Consider the evidence from our expert analysis: 

  • Austin Rulfs discovering businesses invisible to Google
  • Maureen Darrah’s clients seeing 5,800% traffic increases
  • Jack Goodson’s clients finding him through semantic identity rather than keywords. 

The pattern is clear—businesses with strategic content approaches are capturing disproportionate market share.

The WordAgents Solution

The gap between understanding these changes and implementing them successfully is where WordAgents shines. Our comprehensive content services are specifically designed to bridge traditional marketing approaches with AI-optimized positioning.

Our Turnkey SEO Content Service handles everything from competitor analysis and keyword research to content planning and publishing—but with a crucial difference. We create content that performs in both traditional search and AI recommendation systems. Our strategic approach includes developing the kind of expert-level, citation-worthy content that AI systems naturally want to reference and recommend.

For local businesses facing these visibility shifts, our Local SEO services address the specific trust signals AI systems prioritize. We optimize Google Business Profiles, build local citations across the directories AI systems reference, and create the location-specific content that establishes credibility in AI recommendations.

Many businesses also need to update existing content for AI discovery. Our Content Refresh service turns older SEO-focused content into AI-synthesizable materials. We enhance fact-checking, improve structural clarity, and optimize for the conversational queries customers now use with AI-powered search systems.

The reality is that businesses that successfully adapt their content strategy for AI discovery will capture more market share as customer behavior continues evolving. Those that don’t risk becoming systematically invisible in the new discovery economy.

Your Next Move

The businesses that thrive in the AI discovery era will be those that position themselves as the obvious choice for AI systems to recommend. This requires moving beyond traditional SEO tactics toward building the kind of clear, expert-driven presence that AI systems naturally want to cite and customers naturally want to trust.

The evidence is mounting, the shift is accelerating, and the opportunity window won’t stay open indefinitely. The question isn’t whether your customers will start using AI to find businesses—they already are. The question is whether your business will be discoverable when they do.

Ready to adapt your content strategy for the AI discovery era? Let’s discuss how WordAgents can help position your business for success in this rapidly changing landscape. Schedule a consultation to explore how our strategic content services can bridge the gap between your business’s current state and its potential for surfacing in AI-powered search and customer discovery.