AI search is rapidly changing how people discover and evaluate brands – but not in a straightforward way. Half of consumers now actively use AI-powered tools to help guide their decisions, while around a third see them as a replacement for traditional search.
At the same time, these tools are becoming embedded in everyday behaviour. AI-generated summaries now appear in roughly half of searches, and users are increasingly discovering, comparing and shortlisting brands within AI-generated responses before ever visiting a website. As a result, visibility is being shaped much earlier, and across a wider range of sources and signals that AI systems draw on.
As a digital marketing and PR agency specialising in generative engine optimisation (GEO), we’re seeing first-hand how this is affecting brand visibility. To understand how organisations are adapting, we surveyed 600 marketing professionals across the UK in March 2026 to create our AI Search Maturity Report.
Our research reveals how prepared brands believe they are, where gaps in maturity are emerging, and what businesses need to do to keep up with the pace of change.
Key figures:
- 90% of marketers believe they have a clear strategy for adapting to AI search – but, in reality, most are only focussing on basic monitoring
- 85% are concerned about losing visibility in organic search
- 83% say PR has positively impacted their presence in LLMs and AI summaries, yet it’s the most underprioritised as a tactic
- Budgetary constraints are the most common barrier to AI maturity, closely followed by technological limitations
- 77% of businesses report an increase in website traffic due to AI search, compared to 71% reporting an increase in leads
- 20% of marketers plan to decrease SEO spend in 2026, with 58% prioritising increased GEO investment
Activity is increasing but AI strategies remain shallow
Businesses are now building basic AI search strategies as standard, often experimenting with several different tactics to boost their visibility. However, much of this effort is focused on monitoring and optimisation rather than the longer-term brand building that nurtures consistent visibility.
Most marketing teams are tracking brand mentions in AI tools (55%), creating AI-optimised content (48%) and running internal training sessions (45%). These are strong first steps, but they don’t constitute a robust approach to AI search on their own.
Only 39% have adjusted their SEO strategy to respond to AI search, despite the fact that LLMs use high-quality, well-structured SEO content to ground their answers. Maintaining strong search rankings remains highly valuable – not just for the traffic, but because the underlying signals that drive rankings also increase the likelihood of appearing in AI-generated answers.
Earning credible third-party brand mentions is another highly effective way to build a profile in AI search, yet PR appears to be underutilised as a tactic. This suggests that many marketing teams could be unaware of how Large Language Models (LLMs) build their data sets, or could lack the resources to invest in long-term brand building.
If the main follow-up action is simply monitoring outcomes like AI mentions, it suggests that training isn’t being effectively put into practice – and organisations may be overestimating the strength of their approach.
At the same time, 5% of marketing professionals say they are resistant to making changes for AI search – a small but significant number given the pace of AI adoption
Barriers are limiting AI maturity
While most businesses feel comfortable taking basic preparatory steps, the more complex work of increasing presence in AI search is often harder to resource – and many cite budgetary constraints and technological limitations as key challenges.
Our research suggests that marketing teams are still developing the measurement tools and internal expertise needed to approach AI in a more mature and strategic way. This might explain why most (58%) describe themselves as only “somewhat” prepared for AI search, rather than fully equipped. Without clear ways to measure impact or shape visibility, many are stuck observing outcomes rather than driving them.
AI tools are scaling AI-optimised content creation, but raising new challenges
AI adoption is also accelerating in other areas, with 83% of marketing professionals now using it to create or optimise marketing content. A striking 43% now use AI extensively alongside human judgement, while 7% rely on it entirely with no human overview.
As reliance on AI tools increases, content risks becoming more uniform. Rather than strengthening visibility, this can lead to a form of content cannibalisation where brands struggle to compete and differentiate themselves.
Over time, AI systems begin to recognise recycled similarities, which reduces how authoritative or insightful content appears – and ultimately limits visibility in AI-generated search results.
AI search is driving traffic but leads are lagging
Most marketing teams report AI-driven search already having a measurable effect on website traffic and lead generation – although this impact is not evenly distributed.
AI tools are increasingly successful at directing users towards brands, but turning that visibility into meaningful action remains a challenge. While over three quarters of businesses report an increase in website traffic, a smaller proportion are observing a corresponding rise in leads. Around a quarter are reporting no positive impact on lead generation at all.
This suggests that AI search is expanding the top of the marketing funnel – bringing more potential customers into contact with brands – but not consistently converting that visibility into leads. In part, this reflects that users generally consult AI search when they’re discovering, comparing and shortlisting brands, then move to organic search when they’re ready to make their final choice.
Nevertheless, the positive impacts of AI search are clear to see. In our 2025 AI Shift Report – which revealed the impact of Google’s AI search features on cross-sector web traffic from 2024/25 – many organisations saw declining traffic, but our latest research suggests AI search is now delivering slight gains as strategies mature.
Those who are reporting a significant impact won’t just be mastering the particulars of AI search – they’ll be building a holistic strategy that complements existing activity across SEO, content and (perhaps most importantly) PR.
PR is proving effective for visibility, but is underutilised
Despite ranking among the least prioritised marketing tactics for AI search, over 80% of organisations report that PR has been important for their search visibility over the past year, with a third describing that impact as significant.
This reflects the role third-party brand mentions play in building trust, authority and relevance – the signals that influence how brands are represented in AI-generated responses.
"PR is one of the most overlooked opportunities to build AI maturity. In AI search, brands aren’t competing for a single position, they’re competing to be mentioned consistently across trusted sources. That’s where PR plays a critical role. It builds the external validation that AI systems rely on, increasing the likelihood that a brand is included in responses. Trust, authority and relevance are the ultimate positive branding signals – it’s true for humans, and it’s true for LLMs."
- Martyn Gettings, Head of PR, Tank
"Digital PR sits at the intersection of search, content and brand, which makes it especially valuable for building a profile in AI search. The coverage, links and mentions it generates shape how a brand is understood across the wider web, not just how it ranks. In AI search, brands that appear more tend to be those with consistent visibility across trusted sources, rather than those relying on their own channels alone."
- Becca Peel, Head of Digital PR
Marketers recognise the importance of a range of channels, but cannot match this with investment
While AI search is already playing a role in how brands are discovered, marketers do not expect it to replace existing channels. Instead, our data shows that a range of platforms will continue to shape visibility in the next two years.
However, while marketing teams view almost every digital channel as important for brand discovery, they are far more selective when it comes to assigning budgets. GEO for AI search is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the area where they are most likely to match their intent with investment.
While traditional search is still considered the most important channel for growing a brand, many marketing teams are actively de-prioritising it. This is a significant trend to notice, particularly because around two thirds of businesses still rely on organic search for at least half of their traffic.
Shifting investment from SEO to GEO is a risky move. While it reflects a push to maintain visibility as search behaviour changes, it also betrays a misunderstanding of how AI search works.
Now that AI summaries are answering queries directly at the top of the results page, users are less likely to click through to organic listings, prompting many marketers to shift investment towards AI-driven channels. However, many of the signals that drive traditional search performance still underpin how brands appear in AI-generated results, so slashing SEO budgets is counterintuitive.
By targeting AI search so heavily, brands also risk becoming reliant on a far more unstable channel. Nearly 60% of the businesses we surveyed reported appearing in AI-generated answers, but only a small proportion say this happens consistently. In part, this reflects that AI search strategies have not matured properly yet. With focussed investment and a cross-channel approach, these numbers should improve.
But inconsistent visibility also reflects the variable and iterative nature of AI search itself. Responses and brand mentions vary from query to query, and research suggests there is less than a 1 in 100 chance that an AI tool will return the same set of brand recommendations twice for an identical prompt.
This leaves marketing teams in a difficult position. AI search is increasingly shaping visibility, but investing in it means deprioritising more stable, dependable channels. Alongside traditional search, content, social media and influencer marketing are also losing investment, even though they greatly influence what brands are known for, who they’re associated with and how they feature in the sources AI systems trust.
"While businesses are embracing AI in their work and monitoring AI search as a new channel for discovery, they now need to invest in building the long-term signals that shape how they appear. The challenge now is making sure your brand shows up regularly, not just occasionally – and that doesn’t come from one channel alone, but from building a strong, consistent profile across PR, SEO, content and social."
- Martin Harris, Head of Digital, Tank
"Social and influencer activity plays a bigger role in AI search than many teams realise. Influencers act as highly credible sources that LLMs draw on, and building mentions, associations and exposure across different social media platforms is a proven way to influence the digital consensus that AI models reflect back to their users. LinkedIn posts, for example, are now being included in AI responses, allowing employees to develop authority and shape how their organisation is represented."
- Stuart Tongue, Social Lead, Tank
"In AI search, content needs to give systems something concrete to work with. That usually comes from original data, clear expertise or a distinct point of view. The quality of the writing is critical – it must be clear and well-structured, and reflect the user’s intent. It’s also vital that your brand voice is consistent across all channels, so that it is recognisable and trusted no matter where people are searching."
- Catherine Allen, Head of Content, Tank
Confidence in AI strategy is high, but maturity is still developing and concerns are growing
The vast majority of organisations believe they have a clear strategy in place for adapting to AI-driven search. However, our research shows that this confidence is not always reflected in how prepared organisations feel in practice – or how effectively they apply their time and budget.
At the same time, concern about the impact of AI on traditional search is high, with 85% of marketers worried about losing visibility in organic search due to AI-generated summaries.
This highlights a clear mismatch between confidence and capability. While organisations recognise the importance of AI search and report confidence, many are still building the skills, strategies and measurement tools needed to respond effectively.
Where businesses go from here
AI search is quickly becoming a top priority for marketing teams, and for good reason. It’s already shaping how brands are discovered, compared and selected. But as this report shows, focusing too heavily on AI search in isolation can create new risks – particularly when it comes at the expense of channels that still provide consistency, credibility and scale.
Visibility in AI search is not created in a single place. It’s built across a combination of PR, SEO, content and social media, all of which contribute to how a brand is framed within the digital consensus. The most effective approach is to build a consistent presence across all these channels.
As AI continues to evolve, the challenge is to proactively strengthen your marketing strategy across the board, rather than simply react to the pace of change. To understand where your business stands and where to focus on next, take our AI Search Maturity Review.
Methodology
Tank surveyed 600 marketing professionals across the UK in March 2026 using the Pollfish survey platform. Respondents spanned all career stages, employment models, and UK regions.
Data correct as of March 2026.