For many years, Marketing has been developed using intent as the foundation of Marketing. Consumers would actively research, compare and then make a decision based on their findings. When developing a Marketing Plan, a Marketing Strategy would develop a way to intercept consumer intent at an appropriate time.
The rise of AI-led discovery has changed this.
When looking at the historical behaviour of the majority of consumers, the vast majority of users do not search actively. Instead, they are being presented with content through recommendations, summaries, assistants, and predictive interfaces resulting in them being presented with a brand or product/category before they have even developed a clear intent. As a result, Marketing must continue to evolve to meet objects without intent signals.
When intent is inferred, not declared
Conventional marketing systems depended on clear declarations of intent. A query demonstrated someone’s interest in something, while clicking demonstrated that interest. The combination of these two signals directed how marketers target, message and measure.
In contrast, AI-enabled systems can assess the intent behind a user’s interaction with the system by looking at other factors, including: general user behavior; other user interactions; past interactions, etc. As such, AI-enabled systems often let users discover a product or service through more organic means and, therefore, also often do not receive a direct request for the product or service.
The absence of clear declarations of intent leaves marketers without the traditional means of intercepting consumers. Marketers must now focus on positioning themselves well for when AI-enabled systems make the decision to present relevance to that consumer.
Visibility is shaped upstream, long before a brand is encountered.
How marketing works without active search
Within a discovery-driven setting, marketing operates through stability and access, rather than time.
The brands should serve as consistent resources of information in the knowledge environments from which AI systems draw. This means contributing to the knowledge of a brand’s marketplace, and not just showing up at demand events.
Each piece of marketing content becomes part of a larger informational ecosystem. Each piece supports how a brand is classified, trusted, and remembered. Success is based on the number of times and the accuracy of a brand being included in the appropriate contexts.
This creates a need to evolve from reactive practises to proactive systems design.
The role of search engineering in passive discovery
Search Engineering enables effective marketing without intent signals as it provides a way to structure, connect and interpret the information for discovery systems (how things are discovered). Search Engineering makes sure that a brand surfaces organically in a passive discovery experience by connecting content to inferred intent patterns.
Search Engineering also includes clarifying entity relationships, ensuring consistency across multiple sources of information and designing content that is reusable in multiple contexts.
Search Engineering does not attempt to anticipate every potential query; rather, it prepares information in a way so that it can still be understood irrespective of how it was discovered.
This means that Search Engineering embeds a marketing presence directly into the discovery layer.
Rethinking brand presence and measurement
When discovery is passive, traditional metrics lose clarity.
Clicks and impressions capture moments of exposure, but they do not reflect influence. Being included in an answer or recommendation may shape perception without generating measurable traffic.
Marketing leaders must rethink how presence is evaluated. Indicators such as inclusion frequency, contextual relevance, and consistency of representation become more meaningful.
One of the ways that search engineering helps to make passive discovery clear is to provide insight into where brands actually appear in the marketplace and how often (even though no direct interaction has taken place).
Building for long-term discoverability
Discovery without intent rewards long-term investment.
When brands continue contributing to the knowledge base, they create lasting brand relevancy. The brands focusing only on short-term activation will have difficulties in maintaining their presence.
Marketing efforts are able to compound; more marketing efforts equals more marketing power, meaning brands are discovered by consumers in an organic manner no matter how fast the technology changes around them.
The future of marketing in a discovery-led world
As AI creates the views of consumers, marketing must no longer rely on the idea of search based on intent.
Brands that will win in this city are those that have no “intent” but rather will be ready for when someone has the “intent” to look for something related to them.
Marketing in this new world is not about intercepting consumers. It’s about becoming a part of the conversation.
Search engineering makes that possible by aligning brand presence with how discovery systems think.
Share your exclusive thoughts to:
editor@thefoundermedia.com
