Will AI Recommend Your Brand?
The way we search online is changing. Instead of always turning to Google and scrolling through links, more people are using AI-powered tools to ask detailed questions and get direct recommendations. This is creating a new challenge for brands: how do you make sure AI knows who you are and includes you in its answers?
One platform finding itself at the centre of this shift is Reddit. Its communities contain millions of genuine conversations, reviews and recommendations, making this type of content valuable when AI systems look across the web for useful information. As a result, marketers are becoming increasingly interested in how their brands are discussed on Reddit. The challenge is that Reddit communities are fiercely protective of authentic conversation and often push back against brands trying to artificially influence discussions.
This links to a growing area called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) – essentially, improving a brand's chances of appearing when someone asks an AI-powered search experience for information or recommendations. Google has already introduced reporting that helps websites understand their visibility within generative AI Search features, showing how quickly this new form of discovery is developing.
What this means for us:
Search strategy could increasingly go beyond simply asking, “Does our client appear on Google?” We may also need to ask, “Does AI understand, trust and recommend our client?”
That makes the wider digital presence of a brand increasingly important – from useful website content and SEO to digital PR, publishers, creators, reviews and genuine online conversations. However, GEO shouldn't be seen as a replacement for SEO or an excuse to manufacture brand mentions. Google itself says traditional SEO fundamentals remain important and specifically warns against seeking inauthentic mentions.
As AI becomes another way people discover brands, being genuinely useful, credible and talked about could become just as important as ranking highly.