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Brands vs. bots: CMOs, ad agencies tell all about what they’ve learned marketing to our new AI overlords
As AI-driven search becomes increasingly prevalent, brands must adapt their strategies to ensure visibility and accuracy in LLM outputs. This requires a strong foundation in digital content management, consistent brand messaging, and proactive monitoring of how brands are represented across various platforms. Brands that prioritize clarity and authority in their communications will be better positioned to thrive in this evolving landscape.
FastCompany: Let’s get one thing straight: I love my 2015 Toyota Sienna minivan. But after a decade of navigating dirty dog paws, diaper changes, puking toddlers, cross-country road trips, dystopian Maritime Canadian winters, and more, it might be time to consider a succession plan. So, like reportedly half of American consumers using LLM search today, I recently opened up a chatbot and asked it to help me find a new car. My opening prompt was simple: What is the best vehicle for a family of four, that has to deal with daily commutes, winter weather, all in the $50,000 price range?
According to ChatGPT: Best overall: Mazda CX-90 Hybrid Best for reliability and resale: Toyota Highlander Hybrid Best for commuting and family size: Toyota RAV4 Hybrid / Honda CR-V Hybrid Best for space and comfort: Toyota Sienna AWD Hybrid ( Wouldn’t you know it? ) According to Claude: Top pick: 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD Plus, four “strong alternatives”: 2026 Kia Telluride 2026 Hyundai Palisade XRT 2026 Subaru Forester 2026 Honda Passport From the same prompt, two LLMs came up with 10 vehicle suggestions and only a single model in common.
That, in a nutshell, is one of the newest, most compelling challenges facing major brands and marketers right now. Those LLMs’ results didn’t happen just naturally. They’re the result of everything the brands did, intentionally or unintentionally, and what was written about them online. And each LLM interprets and prioritizes all of that information in its own special way, so figuring out how to get to the top of every list—and knowing what each LLM is saying about your brand—is now a key task for every brand’s marketing department. Welcome to the GEO speedwagon.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and overall LLM visibility are in the midst of a gargantuan hype cycle. According to an October 2025 McKinsey report , 50% of Google searches already have AI summaries, and that’s expected to rise to more than 75% by 2028. At that point, $750 billion in U.S. revenue will funnel through AI-powered search. The McKinsey report says brands that are unprepared could see a decline in traffic from the traditional search channels by as much as 50%.
Gaggles of startups are pitching AI slop factories as a solution: promising to quickly create hundreds of pieces of content with key information about brands that will get picked up by LLMs and regurgitated in their responses. What’s proving more useful, however, are tools—like Profound, Bluefish, Scrunch, and Emberos—that help marketers monitor, track, manage, and influence how LLMs find their brands. Profound announced a $96 million investment in February at a $1 billion valuation. Brands and marketers who may be feeling a bit behind on all of this need not panic . . . yet.
Sources I’ve talked to describe this moment in GEO as 1998 for search, or 2006 for social media—the very beginning stages of a transformational moment. The biggest difference is the pace of both technological development and audience adoption. Now is the time to be building the foundations onto which a bigger part of your business will be built. Brand executives and CMOs are on a sliding scale of acceptance of this messy new world of AI discoverability, ranging from diving in headfirst to dipping their toes to going full Lloyd Christmas and trying to ignore the whole thing.
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The article addresses the significant shift in marketing strategies due to AI advancements, providing actionable insights for brand professionals navigating this new landscape.