AI is making brand more important than ever, marketers say.

Reports of search’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

That was the consensus from speakers at last week’s IAB Australia AI & Search Summit. But there was an important caveat: AI is playing a bigger role in the way consumers discover brands — and it’s forever changed search.

“Teams are still operating in search as a channel, but it’s now evolved as a behavior, and we’re still catching up with that,” said Dan Aguirre-Davies, head of search at WPP Media.

So, what should marketers do as AI becomes a more influential part of the discovery journey?

For Clare Farrugia, head of performance at Hatched, the answer is simple: “Build a brand worth finding.”

“The panic you will see in my eyes when a client comes to me and tells me that they just want to shift more spend over to search to capture demand — that is not looking long term. That is not being future-focused,” she said.

SEO isn’t GEO

While attention has shifted to generative engine optimization (GEO), speakers cautioned against treating it as a replacement for SEO.

“There’s been a lot of myth-busting, trying to tell people search isn’t dead, but also that SEO is not GEO,” said Jarrod Allen, associate director of strategic media solutions at Monks.

Instead, GEO is becoming another discipline marketers need to master as  discovery fragments across traditional search engines and AI assistants, said Chloe Legrand, digital marketing lead at Suncorp.

For Farrugia, succeeding in this environment means building a brand with a clear and consistent point of view.

“Having that consistent, niche, clear message that you’re putting out there — that’s what the LLMs value, but it’s also what humans value,” she added. “If you actually stand for something and you’re consistent in that message, then it makes my job as a consumer so much easier.”

Her comments come as AI platforms become an increasingly important destination for discovery. OpenAI has expanded advertising within ChatGPT in recent months, with consumer brands such as The Home Depot, Booking.com and Intuit upping their investment in the platform.

Community has become an AI signal

Another recurring theme was that online community conversations are shaping AI recommendations.

Tom Tilney, senior agency development lead at Reddit, urged marketers to stop broadcasting and start participating.

“Listen to the communities, learn from what they’re saying and then find a way to launch into that specific community in a way that is going to add value and bring them utility.”

The point was echoed by LinkedIn Director of Marketing Solutions Louise Wilson, who said marketers should think about AI discoverability alongside brand building and performance marketing.

“AI discoverability for a marketer is just as important as brand and performance — it’s the third pillar of marketing,” she said.

“I would be investing in thought leadership, customer and community advocacy, community engagement and editorial content.”

Recent research reinforces this, finding that the Reddit platform has become one of the most frequently cited sources for LLMs. This reinforces the broader message from the summit: in an AI-driven discovery environment, brands can no longer rely on keywords alone.