How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Search System and Forcing Companies to Question Their Ad Budgets

For nearly two decades, Google Search has been one of the places where advertisers easily allocated their budgets. The reason was simple: when someone searches Google for a product or service, they often already have a specific intent. However, artificial intelligence is about to change this rule. Through AI overviews and AI modes, Google can answer a portion of the user's questions directly. This means the user does not always need to click on a link and visit a website like before. In a review with 18 media buyers, it was discovered that advertisers are now scrutinizing their Google Search budgets much more closely, asking: How many customers and how much revenue does the money we spend here actually generate for us? Some of these experts say that roughly 10% to 30% of the Google Search budget is now being questioned or could be shifted to other channels. A portion of that money goes to platforms like Meta and TikTok, so that awareness and desire for the product are generated before the customer even goes to Google to search. There is a crucial distinction here: Brand marketing creates demand, while search marketing captures that created demand. For example, if I type «best running shoes» into Google, I have an intent, and Google can convert that intent into a click and a purchase. But the question is: Who made me want those shoes in the first place? I might have seen a video on TikTok, an influential figure might have talked about it, or a brand campaign might have encouraged me. Therefore, the important lesson of this news is: Marketing must not simply wait at the end of the customer journey until the customer searches; rather, it must create the reason for the search at the very beginning of the journey. Or in one short sentence: «The best marketing doesn't just capture ready-made demand; it creates the demand itself.»