A recent study by Yext, a digital presence platform, highlights significant shifts in consumer behavior regarding how people search for and trust brand information. The study finds that now 45% of customers are using and trusting AI tools, assembling insights about brands, where this becomes an emergent challenge for traditional search engines like Google. Findings of the study suggest that AI-driven platforms are being increasingly seamlessly integrated in the customer journey, where 51% of shoppers turning to social media for brand discovery, and 28% who turn to voice assistants.
Yext’s third-party research explores how evolving search habits are reshaping the landscape for brands. While 64% of customers still begin their search journey on traditional search engines, the study indicates that many consumers use multiple tools and channels—on average, three—when looking for information about products or services. This shift underscores that simply relying on Google for brand visibility is no longer sufficient. Notably, 94% of customers seek brand information on platforms beyond Google, Bing, Facebook, and Apple. Among younger consumers, platforms like Instagram (71%) and TikTok (66%) have become key search destinations, signaling a shift toward social media as a primary search engine.
The rise of AI tools has also made an impact within the search ecosystem. Its study points out that 49% of consumers are most likely to trust the AI-generated responses, like summaries from Google’s AI. It thus seems that marketers need to start shifting their strategies, so they begin to assume their new demands and needs. As said by Anthony Rinaldi, the senior director of insights for Yext, “Marketers will have to change with the times because, for instance, Google impressions have been declining by up to 20% in the last two years.”
For brands, ensuring the accuracy and relevance of the information presented through AI tools is critical. Over half of customers (56%) express frustration when they encounter outdated or inaccurate brand information. Furthermore, 57% of consumers say that accurate, detailed information influences their trust in a brand, while 64% of respondents would consider switching brands if they find incorrect or missing details. As AI continues to evolve, companies are urged to ensure their data is organized in a way that guarantees accurate and authoritative responses across all platforms.
