What's Happening?
AI is transforming how consumers discover products, with a significant shift towards AI-driven systems for search and decision-making. This change is affecting traditional marketing strategies, as visibility and influence become less predictable. According to James Bentley, AI strategy director at Awin, the rise of AI-generated content is compressing the customer journey, reducing the need for multiple site visits. This shift is evident as a large percentage of Google searches now end without a click, and consumers increasingly trust AI-generated content. As AI systems become more integral to product discovery, affiliate marketing is emerging as a reliable channel. This performance-based approach allows brands to pay only when a defined outcome,
such as a sale, is achieved, making it a stable option in an AI-dominated landscape.
Why It's Important?
The integration of AI in product discovery is reshaping marketing strategies, impacting how brands reach and influence consumers. As AI systems handle more of the search and decision-making processes, traditional methods of gaining visibility are becoming less effective. This shift poses challenges for marketers, as the signals behind AI-generated answers are often opaque, complicating discoverability and attribution. However, affiliate marketing offers a solution by focusing on outcomes rather than impressions, aligning with AI's reliance on trusted, expert-led sources. This approach not only ensures credibility but also adapts to the evolving digital landscape, where AI systems prioritize high-quality, expert-driven content.
What's Next?
As AI continues to influence product discovery, marketers will need to adapt by investing in deeper content partnerships and designing content that is easily extractable by AI systems. This includes creating structured, evidence-supported content that AI can reference reliably. Additionally, brands must evolve their measurement strategies to account for AI-first journeys, using new attribution methods to track influence. As AI systems increasingly rely on trusted publishers, brands and marketers must act as stabilizing forces to maintain accuracy and trust in the information provided. The future of discovery will see AI systems drawing more heavily from environments where affiliate marketing thrives, emphasizing the importance of authority and trust in driving conversions.
