Brands are now turning to AI chatbots to boost visibility
What's the story
As the digital landscape evolves, brands are now focusing on visibility within AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. This shift comes as consumer discovery moves from traditional search engines to these advanced platforms. Rishabh Shekhar, Co-founder and COO of content marketing company Pepper, said this change is prompting real investment in Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
Enhanced traffic
AI search offers quality traffic
Kunal Kothari, Chairman and co-founder of digital marketing agency Mobavenue, has observed that while AI search volumes are lower than traditional SEO, the quality of traffic is much better. He said this shift results in higher conversion rates and stronger retention. "In performance terms, that is a higher quality outcome at a lower effective cost," Kothari added.
Adoption rates
Significant adoption of AI search optimization
Agencies have reported a strong adoption of AI search optimization. Pepper has onboarded nearly 100 clients for GEO in the past year alone. Shekhar said they are working with brands like EuroGrip and NPCI to help them appear in non-brand AI queries. They are also developing tools such as Atlas to track performance on these platforms.
Strategy shift
New strategy required for AI visibility
The strategy for AI visibility is changing from traditional SEO. This is because AI search pulls from a wider ecosystem including digital PR, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Facebook, and third-party reviews. Shivani Khandelwal of ad agency AGENCY09 said most of the 30-40 brands she handles are investing in AEO. She stressed that improving Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust (EEAT), and creating structured machine-readable content are key to being picked up by these systems.
Financial barriers
High costs hindering brand adoption
Despite the growing interest in AI search optimization, many brands are still hesitant due to cost. Founder and CEO of digital marketing agency Nians, Gaurav Kaushik, said while citation on Google SEO costs around ₹9,000, it comes at ₹30,000-40,000 on chatbots. Monthly spends are also rising with GEO services priced at ₹3-4 lakh as opposed to traditional SEO which typically costs around ₹1-2 lakh per month.
Budget growth
Brands increasing budgets for AI search optimization
Despite the high costs, brands are increasing their budgets for AI search optimization. Khandelwal said this is often bundled with SEO rather than sold separately. Companies that earlier spent ₹30-40 lakh annually on SEO are now upping their budgets to ₹70-80 lakh to include GEO. At the higher end of the spectrum, Shekhar said large brands are willing to invest aggressively in this area.