Don’t be the last one to think about AI search and MKT!
Join my journey into search and marketing, sparked by recent news!
💻My journey with search engine💻
Though I’m a loyal customer, turned out I’m not 👀. I was totally a Baidu person for 10-ish years in China, until I flew to the U.S. for university and instantly switched to Google and also Red. Just about to say I’ll stick to them forever, ChatGPT and other AI-powered search engines, such as Perplexity, came and further disrupted my sense of user loyalty.
Yes, I’m one out of the 180 million monthly users of ChatGPT (I used ChatGPT almost EVERY DAY in the last half year 🥸).
And yes, I’m also one out of the 10 million monthly active users of Perplexity. I use it EVERY TIME when I just want a summarized answer with sources, so I don’t need to click on multiple links that Google provides, sry Google.
🤩The Catalyst for my thoughts: Recent News🤩
I was sparked by this news, talking about how Perplexity AI, launched in December 2022, has more than 1 million users in India. In the interview, the founder, Aravind Srinivas, discussed the future of Perplexity and his opinions about Google and Perplexity.
With its clear aim to establish a “straightforward, efficient experience, free from the influence of advertising-driven models” platform, I am not surprised that Perplexity has a growing user base.
💡My thoughts and arguments💡
The buzz is around whether such AI tech would be the “Google search killer”. That, I cannot control :). What remains within my control as a marketer is the proactive consideration of how shifts in search engine preferences might affect the ways brands communicate with the audiences.
- Further personalization
AI-powered search engines can better understand the context and intent of the searches. By analyzing past interactions, marketers may send precise marketing information to customers who have the need.
Take me as an example, I am a bubble tea head so I buy it at least three times a week. When I search “bubble tea”, the current search engine contains many product information that I do not care about, such as bubble tea kits from unfamiliar brands.
Although many links are already ranked on a keyword-relevance basis, they are still not exactly what I am looking for. AI-powered search engines, on the other hand, can analyze my past purchases and search behavior and know I only like to buy from shops, learn my flavor preference which may vary once in a while, and thus suggest nearby shops that match my profile. Bubble tea shops can thus target precisely and efficiently, sending brand info to those who have a high likelihood of purchase.
2. Visual search
Search engines are already equipped with audio and picture search, yet AI can enhance convenience to the next level. Ideally, AI-powered search engines can better utilize visuals in searching, enabling precise targeting.
Who else is like me who needs forever to search for a coffee table that matches the living room style while keeping the budget and has fast delivery speed? AI search can understand the level of complexity without me explaining all these. I can upload a picture of my living room, and let AI suggest some coffee tables that meet my need.
Such visual searches are based on the understanding of the picture the user uploaded, the context of the search, and users’ past behaviors. Marketers can use such functions to easily reach customers with clear purchasing intentions or at least attract need-match customers to the brand website for more information.
3. Improve ad bid
Traditional search engine ad bidding is heavily depended on keyword searches. AI-powered search may do better in a complex environment as it can analyze extensive complex data (e.g. past ad campaign performance, customer interaction data, real-time ad bidding environments, and even other factors such as time of the day and weather patterns) Such analysis can aid the opportunity to adjust ads placement accordingly. Compared to traditional search engine algorithms, AI takes the analysis further to prediction. It may have the ability to adjust bids preemptively to capitalize on predicted changes. Advertisers who understand the demand and the need for the product very well will thus be able to leverage the benefit of precise real-time targeting.
There are certainly many other advantages of marketing with AI-powered search engines as long as markets adapt to leverage them. I expect marketers to have an increased return on investment, meaning we can spend less for the same marketing result or spend the same for better campaign performance.
From here, let’s start our marketing journey with this evolving AI dynamic!
