AI search is overtaking SEO, but most marketers lack a plan

AMP Marketing and PR says its new report shows marketing leaders expect AI-powered search to reshape brand discovery within three years, yet nearly half have no strategy in place. The findings suggest visibility, accuracy and control in AI-generated answers are becoming a new priority for brands.

Why it matters: - AI-driven discovery is becoming a core channel for how brands are found, described and recommended. - The report says companies that shape their AI visibility early may gain an advantage in reputation, demand and customer trust. - Marketers now face a shift from ranking pages in search results to influencing how AI systems answer questions about their brands.

What happened: - AMP Marketing and PR released The AMP Marketing Leaders Report on September 1, 2026. - The report combines an independent Centiment survey of 159 marketing decision-makers with interviews from senior marketing and communications leaders at NVIDIA, NTT Research and formerly MuleSoft. - The survey found 58.5% of respondents believe AI search will matter most within the next two to three years. - Only 17% chose traditional SEO as the most important search priority. - 44.7% of marketing leaders said they have no AI search strategy.

The details: - The report says only 5% of respondents called traditional SEO “dead.” - Another 50.9% said traditional SEO is being replaced by AI-driven discovery. - 57.2% of respondents are concerned AI will misrepresent their company. - 56.6% worry about losing control of their brand narrative. - 24.5% said they have never checked how AI platforms describe their organization. - 17.6% said no one currently owns AI visibility inside their company. - 22% said they do not have an internal term for the discipline. - AI-driven visibility was the top area for increased marketing investment, chosen by 35.2% of respondents. - AI search visibility is an immediate priority or a priority within six months for 66% of marketing leaders. - 59.1% believe media coverage affects how companies appear in AI-generated answers and search results. - The report links that influence to PR, expert commentary, executive thought leadership and authoritative content. - The report recommends that organizations audit how major AI platforms describe their company, executives and products. - The report also recommends assigning ownership of AI visibility, building a formal AI search strategy, integrating PR, content, SEO and AI visibility, monitoring AI-generated brand narratives and treating AI platforms as a distinct audience. - The full report is available here.

Between the lines: - The findings suggest marketers see AI search as a reputational issue, not just a traffic issue. - The gap between concern and action is wide, with many leaders expecting change before they have assigned ownership or defined a strategy. - Earned media appears to matter more because AI systems may use credible coverage as source material for answers. - The report reflects a broader shift in communications strategy toward shaping machine-readable brand narratives, not only human-facing content.

What's next: - AMP Marketing and PR says organizations should move now to audit AI descriptions, set ownership and align PR with SEO and content. - Brands that do not monitor AI-generated descriptions may have less control over how customers, clients and prospects first encounter them. - Marketing teams are likely to face more pressure to prove AI visibility as a measurable part of brand strategy.

The bottom line: - AI search is moving from experiment to expectation, and many marketing teams are still unprepared.