The news: The search journey is becoming increasingly fragmented as consumers lose trust in the first answer they see and turn to various other resources for product recommendations and reviews.

• Nearly 90% of consumers in the US, the UK, France, and Germany now cross-check results across multiple platforms, per Yext’s The Rise of AI Search Archetypes report, indicating that the “single search source” era is over.
• About half use social platforms to seek out reviews (52%), local recommendations (48%), and how-to guidance (47%).

Social trends: Search has gone social, with influence now rivaling information. TikTok feeds, Reddit threads, and influencer pages are joining the search battlefield, giving more credence to visibility over content.

• On top of the consumers who rely on social media reviews of products, 14% rarely buy items without validation from others through proof of value on social media.
• Users now outsource trust to communities, not corporations, as social proof becomes a new benchmark when shopping.

Zooming out: Consumers aren’t just toggling between social apps, search engines, and AI assistants to explore—there’s also an erosion of trust that’s leading them to check multiple sources before checking out.

• Part of this could come from anxiety about scams or the credibility of unfamiliar brands—over two-thirds (69%) of US adults having abandoned an online transaction or sign-up process due to distrust, per Liquid Web.
• Vetting takes place in multiple locations: 61% use Google Search to verify brands’ credibility, 43% use Reddit, and and 19% rely on app store ratings and reviews.

Discovery journeys: Traditional search hasn’t gone away entirely, though. Nearly half (45%) still start product research on a search engine, per Yext, but it’s time for brands to create a broader ecosystem of opportunities for consumers to find and learn about their products.

AI search is expanding the map of how people explore. About 15% go to AI tools or review sites, a substantial diversion from the discovery funnel. With 73% of consumers using AI search more this year than in the past, the path to purchase has become a conversation, not a query.

CMOs need to think in prompts, not just keywords, optimizing brand data for contextual, generative AI (genAI) interactions.

What brands should do: Brands need to start optimizing for how AI tools act on their behalf, per Yext. CMOs should focus on ensuring AI tools interpret their data accurately and present it in the right contexts, which could come from succinct FAQ pages or concrete product listings that avoid vague or abstract descriptions.

Because visibility can’t hinge on any one platform’s algorithm, companies need to plan for distributed discovery, where presence lives across multiple search channels simultaneously. The better AI can validate brand authority, the more often a company’s products can become a default recommendation.