AI Search Results Promote Rivals From Brands’ Own Content

Image credit: Search Engine Journal

Global brands are inadvertently promoting competitors through their own self-ranked listicles cited by artificial intelligence search results, marking a significant shift in content strategy.

Research indicates that Google‘s AI Overview frequently references a brand’s self-published list of products or services but then recommends a rival mentioned within that same content, undermining traditional digital marketing efforts.

Lily Ray, a researcher, found that when a brand’s own listicle appeared as a citation in AI Overviews, the brand itself was excluded from the direct recommendation 69 percent of the time.

AI search engines, including Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, distinguish between a ‘citation,’ which identifies the source of information, and a ‘recommendation,’ which suggests a specific product or service for users to choose.

Recommendations are important for driving sales and conversions, while citations primarily acknowledge the origin of data, according to digital marketing experts.

Winning these valuable AI recommendations increasingly depends on independent third-party mentions, links, and reviews, rather than modifications to a brand’s own on-page content.

To secure AI recommendations, brands must focus on generating more independent web coverage, such as reviews, comparisons, and walkthroughs, published by external entities.

This often involves incentivizing creators and reviewers to produce content about their products or services on platforms like YouTube, Reddit, or industry-specific sites.

For example, a brand like Oasis LMS or Kajabi might create a listicle comparing various learning management systems, including competitors like Thinkific, LearnWorlds, and Teachable.

While Google’s AI Overview might cite the Oasis LMS listicle, it could then recommend a competitor mentioned within that article, such as Kajabi, based on other independent signals.

This dynamic highlights a backfiring effect for self-promotional content strategies in the era of AI search, compelling brands to reassess how they influence online visibility and consumer choice.

Companies like FirstPromoter, which specializes in affiliate marketing and partnerships, could play a more significant role in helping brands generate the independent third-party endorsements needed for AI recommendations.

The shift suggests that traditional search engine optimization (SEO) tactics focused on owned media are becoming less effective for direct product recommendations in AI-driven search environments.

Source: Search Engine Journal