AI as a First Brand Touchpoint
This article was published on December 26, 2025
Categorized in: Digital Marketing, AI Marketing
Because of AI, our understanding of touchpoints has changed. However, as AI carves a place of itself in the mainstream, it has become clear that audience behavior is changing, which means that the trajectory of brand discovery is changing. It used to be that people would discover your brand by performing a search query, finding you on social media, clicking on a digital ad, and other traditional ways. While this could still happen, we need to honor that AI needs to be added to the list.
In fact, it is quickly becoming a one of the first, if not the first, touchpoint for your brand, simply because it has changed the way people gather information. Here’s a look at why this is the case:
AI Answers Have Replaced the Initial Search
These days, AI has made its way onto search results for most browsers. People know this, and have been favoring AI Answers without even realizing it. So, they either ask their question or make their query directly in the browser, but then favor what AI has to say, or they go to an AI engine directly. Then, rather than scanning pages of results, they receive a synthesized explanation.
A brand could be found within these results, if they orchestrate things correctly. Also, within the results, AI may mention categories, approaches, and specific brands. This means a brand can be introduced before a user ever types a keyword into a traditional search engine. For many queries, AI now serves as the opening move in the discovery process, setting the tone for everything that follows.
AI Curates Options and Possibilities
Although AI certainly does deliver information, it also does much more than that. Unlike search engines, which present many possible paths, AI often narrows the field. It highlights a handful of solutions or examples based on perceived relevance and authority.
This curation acts as an early filter. Brands included in those initial summaries gain immediate legitimacy, while those excluded may never be considered. Yes, AI is retrieving data. However, it is also conveying the information in a unique way that helps shape the overall perception of the information. Within these results, your brand may possibly be mentioned as one of these possibilities.
AI Changes the Early Funnel
We need to start thinking of AI not as a place to gather information, but as something that has actually become part of the marketing funnel. This is especially the case for
Traditionally, awareness and consideration unfolded across multiple steps and channels. AI collapses that sequence. In a single response, it can define a problem, explain solutions, and suggest next actions. This compression means brands must earn trust quickly and implicitly. If an AI includes a brand as part of a clear, confident answer, it accelerates movement through the early funnel. If not, the brand may never enter the user’s decision-making process at all.
Together, these shifts signal a deeper change in how marketing works. Visibility is no longer only about ranking or reach—it’s about being intelligible and credible to AI systems. Clear positioning, consistent expertise, and authoritative content matter more than ever. Brands that understand this are designing for discovery inside AI, not just optimizing for clicks.
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About the Author: Brick Marketing President, Nick Stamoulis
Nick Stamoulis is President of Brick Marketing and has over 25 of years digital marketing experience. He specializes in solving complex digital marketing challenges through SEO, content marketing, social media, PPC, email marketing, SEO for AI (GEO) and conversion optimization.
