For decades, searching for information on the internet followed a consistent model. You typed keywords into a search box and the engine returned relevant web pages. This process of querying keywords and browsing websites is being fundamentally reshaped by the rise of generative AI.
Examples like Google's Search Generative Experience, Microsoft's integration of ChatGPT into Bing and the AI-powered search engine Perplexity.ai demonstrate how major search platforms are pivoting to this new paradigm. Perplexity.ai completely reimagines the search interface as an interactive conversational experience fronted by an AI assistant.
As we transition to an"ask" model powered by AI, those AI assistants will need robust capabilities to determine the trustworthiness of information sources, validate claims, verify facts and, ultimately, surface truthful answers. Simply retrieving and repackaging data is insufficient if the underlying information lacks truthfulness.
Websites will likely optimize their content strategies to match how people ask natural language questions rather than focusing solely on keywords. Establishing topical credibility that AI can recognize will be crucial. Search engines will need to adapt their ranking systems to better serve AI's consumption of website data.
I believe a major role will be handling the entire shopping journey through natural conversations, from initial product research and comparing options to making the final purchase decision and transaction. Just as e-commerce sites today invest in search engine optimization , optimizing for visibility on marketplace platforms or their app placement in app stores, I see AI optimization strategies increasing in importance. Here are a few ways I believe this could be approached.