Almost half (44 percent) of consumers trust AI recommended products, services, or brands, a new report from Omnicom Media Group (OMG) revealed.
The report also included that more than half of consumers (65 percent) rely on Google’s AI overviews for answers.
The information comes from OMG’s latest report, “Generative Engine Optimization: The New Paradigm for Discovery in the AI Era.” The report demonstrates changes in consumer behaviour with the rise of GenAI in search.
Joanna O’Connell, North America chief intelligence officer and lead study author at OMG, said, “As GenAI is transforming the experience of finding and connecting with information, brands must adapt to a reality where users may rarely leave AI summaries or AI-infused SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) – where in fact, GenAI recommendations are the new word of mouth.” said “In this zero-click world, the new gold standard will be visibility, citations, and sentiment – and GEO [(Generative Engine Optimisation)] becomes the primary means to ensure that when AI speaks, brands hold the key to influencing their presence and representation to customers.”
The media company surveyed over 2,000 adults in the US to gauge who is using AI, and how it is being used.
Among the 65 percent who said they rely heavily on AI overviews, 20 percent of survey respondents said they solely rely on AI overviews for information, abandoning traditional search methods.
A surprisingly high number of survey respondents – 39 percent of respondents – said their searches are now primarily done via AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini, as opposed to a search engine like Google.
Google’s AI Overviews feature displays an AI-generated summary at the top of the search results page. The summary pulls from multiple sources in the search results, often eliminating the need for users to manually click onto multiple web pages.
AI systems like this tool have been criticised for “hallucinating”–spewing incorrect information. However, OMG’s report showed that trust in Google’s AI Overviews grew from 44 percent to 68 percent in the past year, with trust in GenAI for search rising from 37 percent to 61 percent.
Since the tool was introduced, many online publishers have reported a significant decrease in traffic.
Omnicom’s survey showed that 75 percent of respondents are using AI in some form, with 46 percent using AI daily. Nearly half (45 percent) of respondents report using GenAI for question-and-answer purposes.
A New Era of Ecommerce
The increased use of GenAI for search queries impacts how and where marketers deliver their ads. More consumers are turning to AI tools -particularly large language models (LLMs) – throughout the shopping process, from product discovery to purchase. Nearly half (46 percent) of shoppers use AI for product familiarisation, and 27 percent use AI for shopping inspiration.
While most still use traditional search methods (45 percent) or social media (40 percent) to decide what to buy, 33 percent of respondents reported using AI for shopping. AI usage is strong in shopping categories where a consumer may choose between options, such as travel (30 percent), personal care (27 percent), groceries (25 percent), household goods (23 percent), clothing (23 percent), and electronics (22 percent).
Because of the increased use of AI for product discovery, AI platforms are beginning to integrate ads directly into the platform. As of now, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot are the only platforms with ads.
