The insight: Generative AI is influencing product awareness well before consumers show intent. Even though traditional search still accounts for nearly all general information-seeking minutes in the US, AI tools are inserting product suggestions earlier in the journey.
Only about 2% of ChatGPT prompts mention items that can be purchased, per OpenAI’s internal data, yet AI introduces products in roughly one-third of conversations that are not meant to be about shopping. At the same time, AI minutes quadrupled YoY, while Google’s search usage ticked slightly upward rather than declining.
This places AI in a new role: Not as a replacement for search, but as an upstream source that nudges users toward categories long before they begin researching.
Why it matters: This shift reshapes how discovery begins. Instead of entering a category through a keyword-driven search, many consumers will first be introduced to a product idea when asking an LLM about everyday needs. That means AI can influence preference before comparison shopping even occurs.
According to data from Profound, generative AI inserts product recommendations in 34% of US conversations that aren’t even about shopping, rising to 47% for health concerns and 42% for productivity issues. These are upstream moments where the user never signals intent.
Product discovery is changing: AI is becoming an intro point in discovery for a growing number of consumers.
Per AP-NORC survey data, 60% of US adults who have tried AI say they use it primarily to look up information—more than any other task. That reinforces AI’s role as an early-stage discovery channel rather than a direct-response environment.
Key takeaway for marketers: Marketers should prepare for a world where LLMs routinely frame the earliest stage of consumer consideration. Rather than responding to explicit intent, brands must identify the broader questions or problems that naturally align with their offerings.
Advertisers may eventually direct part of their branding budgets toward AI-native placements once those formats become more developed. Early experiments from major AI players are already moving in that direction.
To succeed, marketers should:
- Identify the non-shopping conversations where your product is a relevant solution.
- Map the informational prompts most likely to surface your category.
- Monitor how AI tools reference brands in unsolicited recommendations.
- Treat AI exposure as a branding moment that precedes any classic search behavior.
AI may only account for a small share of search time today, but its position at the start of the journey gives it outsized influence.