Already intentionally use AI-powered search for brand discovery.
According to McKinsey’s AI Discovery Survey (US consumer panel of 1,927 respondents, August 2025), AI-powered search is no longer experimental; it's a primary discovery channel.
AI search is no longer just experimental.
Consumers are actively using platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and Google AI Overviews to research categories, evaluate brands, compare products, and make decisions.
They are learning about categories, brands, products, and services long before making a final decision. In other words, AI influences the customer before they even know which brands they want to consider.
AI compresses the decision journey.
Compresses search, comparison, and synthesis into a single direct conversation.
McKinsey found that 40–55% of consumers across major sectors (electronics, travel, wellness, apparel, beauty, grocery, financial services) use AI search directly to inform purchase decisions.
AI search is already a preferred source of insight.
Among people who use AI-powered search, where do they prefer to get insight?
“You can rank first on Google and still be missing from the AI conversation your potential customer is having.”
Your website doesn't control the answer.
Own Site Citations
McKinsey found that a brand's own site represents only 5–10% of the sources referenced by AI-powered search.
AI systems draw heavily from affiliates, publishers, online communities, forums, and user-generated content across the broader web ecosystem.
The AI Information Ecosystem changes based on:
So, how does AI see your brand?
Traditional analytics measure website traffic, Google rankings, and ad clicks, but leave you blind to AI search.
- How much traffic your website gets
- Where you rank on Google search
- How many people click your ads
- How many form leads you generate
- ?Does ChatGPT or Gemini mention my brand?
- ?Where does my brand rank in AI answers?
- ?Which sources influence how AI describes me?
- ?Is AI describing my brand positively or negatively?
- ?Which competitors appear when I don't?
Systematically track their AI search performance. Most brands are not necessarily invisible; they simply cannot see what is happening. And you can't improve what you don't measure.
SEO got you into search.
GEO is about getting into the answer.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helped brands compete for visibility in traditional search results. Now, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging as an essential part of digital strategy.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) requires understanding:
Meet Vizhli.
Understand how AI sees your brand. Vizhli is the AI visibility platform built to monitor, analyze, and optimize your presence across AI search.
AI Monitoring
Track your brand across major AI platforms and see where you appear, how often you're mentioned, and where you rank within AI-generated answers.
Citations & Sentiment
See which web sources influence AI's answers about your brand and understand whether those answers describe you positively, negatively, or neutrally.
Competitor Analysis
See which competitors appear when your brand doesn't, where they outperform you, and how your visibility compares across AI-powered search.
Action Plans
Turn AI visibility data into clear, practical actions so you know what to improve instead of staring at another dashboard wondering what to do.
The web changed once.
AI is changing it again.
The brands that adapt early won't just compete for clicks. They'll compete for the answer. Join the waitlist for early access to Vizhli.
Waitlist members get 50% off your first 2 months! Limited spots.
Research & Methodology
The statistics and findings on this page are based primarily on research published by McKinsey & Company in “New front door to the internet: Winning in the age of AI search” (October 16, 2025).
The McKinsey AI Discovery Survey was conducted among a representative US consumer panel of 1,927 respondents in August 2025. Additional figures in the report are based on McKinsey analysis, projections, Google AI Overview analysis, and a September 2025 CMO survey.