Search is undergoing its biggest shift since Google became the default way people discover products, services, and companies.
Between now and 2027, AI answer engines and AI-assisted search experiences will increasingly decide which brands get surfaced, recommended, trusted, and selected, often before users ever click a website.
This article covers the most important AI search trends to watch before 2027, what they mean for marketing leaders, and how to stay visible with AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and proactive digital reputation management.
Trend #1: Traditional Search Volume Is Expected to Decline as AI “Answers” Replace Clicks
One of the strongest signals that this shift is real: Gartner predicts that traditional search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 as AI chatbots and virtual agents absorb more query volume.
In parallel, Bain reports that:
- ~80% of search users rely on AI summaries at least 40% of the time, and
- ~60% of searches end without users clicking to another destination (a “zero-click” outcome that’s accelerating with AI).
What it means: Brands can’t rely on rankings alone. Visibility is increasingly happening inside AI summaries and AI-generated answers, and that requires a different optimization strategy than traditional SEO.
Action now: Start with an AEO baseline to see how your brand appears today across AI platforms:
AEO Audit.
Trend #2: AI Platforms Are Becoming the Starting Point for Commercial Research
This is where the change becomes revenue-relevant.
Bain’s consumer research indicates that 30%–45% of U.S. consumers use generative AI for product research and comparison.
In the same research, Bain notes that:
- 17% of unique online shoppers say they will begin shopping with an AI platform such as ChatGPT or Perplexity, and
- 30% plan to start with AI-enabled Google search (where AI summaries increasingly influence outcomes).
What it means: If AI is where customers start comparisons, your brand must be (1) understood, (2) trusted, and (3) easy for AI to cite correctly.
Action now: Pair AEO improvements with reputation control so AI platforms surface accurate, favorable brand narratives:
AI Search Visibility & Digital Reputation Management.
Trend #3: AI “Share of Voice” Will Become the New Competitive Metric
Historically, marketers tracked:
- rankings
- organic traffic
- CTR
- conversion rate
Before 2027, a new KPI becomes unavoidable: AI Answer Share of Voice (how often your brand is mentioned, cited, and recommended in AI answers compared to competitors).
Why? AI bots and AI indexers are rising rapidly. Tollbit data reported by TechRadar shows AI bots growing as a share of web traffic, including significant growth in RAG bots and AI search indexers, and notes that 37% of active AI users start searches through AI platforms like ChatGPT or Gemini.
What it means: Your “visibility” is no longer only where you rank. It’s whether AI includes you in the answer at all.
Trend #4: Multimodal and Personalized Answers Will Change How Brands Are Discovered
AI search isn’t just text. Expect rapid growth in:
- Multimodal search (image + text + voice)
- Personalized answers (context-aware, user-history influenced recommendations)
- Agentic experiences (AI that can take actions, not just answer questions)
Gartner has also pointed to a near-term expansion of agentic capabilities across enterprise software ecosystems.
What it means: Branding, product data, content structure, and reputation signals will matter across many “answer surfaces,” not just classic search results.
Action now: Treat your website as an AI-readable knowledge base: structured content, clear entity signals, consistent brand messaging, and strong trust indicators.
Trend #5: The Winner-Take-More Dynamic Will Intensify in AI Search
AI platforms tend to cite a small set of sources repeatedly. That creates a compounding effect: brands already being referenced get referenced more.
AI chatbot usage is also highly concentrated. StatCounter tracks AI chatbot market share based on billions of page views, illustrating how a few major platforms dominate attention.
What it means: If your competitors establish AI visibility first, they will accumulate disproportionate mindshare, even if you have comparable offerings.
2026–2027: Directional Market Expectations for Brands With vs Without AEO
The table below is a directional forecast based on the macro shifts above (AI summaries, zero-click behavior, AI-as-starting-point for research). Results vary by industry, competition level, and existing authority.
| Outcome Area | Brands Investing in AEO (Audit + Optimization) | Brands Not Investing in AEO |
|---|---|---|
| AI Answer Share of Voice | Grows over time as citations/mentions compound | Declines as competitors become default “answers” |
| Brand Trust in AI Summaries | Higher: accurate positioning + stronger authority signals | Lower: risk of omission, outdated info, or weak representation |
| Lead Quality From AI-Influenced Journeys | Improves (AI-driven research tends to be high-intent) | Becomes less predictable and less controllable |
| Competitive Position by 2027 | “Winner-take-more” advantage (early visibility compounds) | Late-mover disadvantage (harder to displace established sources) |
Bottom line: AEO is increasingly a market share conversation, not just a traffic conversation.
Practical Checklist for Brands
- Measure your current AI visibility: where (and whether) your brand appears across major AI platforms.
- Fix structural gaps: improve site clarity, entity signals, content structure, and key trust indicators.
- Align brand messaging: ensure consistent positioning across the site so AI can summarize you accurately.
- Protect reputation signals: manage the sources AI pulls from to prevent outdated or incorrect narratives.
- Track continuously: AI answers change. Monitoring is part of the strategy.
How Vertical Helps Brands Win AI Search Before 2027
Vertical’s approach is built for decision-makers who want clarity and outcomes, not vague recommendations.
We help brands:
- Run an AEO Audit to benchmark current visibility in AI answers and identify gaps
- Implement targeted AEO optimizations that improve AI readability, brand authority, and citation potential
- Strengthen AI Search Visibility + Digital Reputation so answers are accurate, favorable, and consistent
- Execute changes cleanly (especially on WordPress) without disrupting site performance or marketing operations
Explore our services:
Ready to See How Your Brand Performs in AI Search?
AI search is already shaping customer decisions, and the brands that take action now will benefit from compounding visibility before 2027.