AI claimt the ad market

More and more people are leaving Google for what it is and asking their questions directly to ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity. Where you used to scroll through a page full of search results, you now get one ready-made answer. This previously required a shift in your strategy. We moved from SEO to GEO: Generative Engine Optimization. It’s no longer about being 'findable' for a keyword, but about being 'cited' by the AI. You need to be the source that the LLM (Large Language Model) simply cannot ignore.

But this is now going a step further. As advertising slots shift to AI overviews and generated answers, the dividing line between branding and conversion is becoming thinner than ever. We call that performance branding.

In a world where the AI decides which brand is presented as 'the best,' your brand name is your most powerful asset. If people don’t ask for your brand specifically, you are at the mercy of the algorithm. Performance branding ensures that you aren’t just visible in the data, but that you create a preferred position in the mind of the consumer and the database of the AI. Moving from “buy a large water bottle for me” to “buy a Stanley for me.”

Something that is currently not yet in full swing is brands paying the companies behind AI to appear in chatbot answers—a term known as ‘sponsored intelligence.’ While this could generate billions for tech companies, it is a risky game. As soon as the consumer feels that advice is 'bought' instead of earned, trust in the chatbot evaporates. The challenge for brands, therefore, is to remain authentic even in a sponsored world.

AI feeds on data from across the internet, including public forums and reviews. Marketers are already trying to influence these sources, but make no mistake: AI recognizes manipulation faster than we can adjust. Ruben Schreus rightly called this a 'cat-and-mouse game' in the FD (Financial Daily). The real winner is the brand with a rock-solid, authentic reputation. If the world speaks positively about you, the AI will adopt that. Reputation is the fuel for your GEO.