Discoverability – the Future of Visibility
With AI recommendations, social media inspiration, and marketplaces acting as search engines, fewer purchases now begin with a search query. As focus shifts from individual channels to holistic discoverability, the impact on visibility is profound.
Brand profile and product discoverability as guides: Many routes lead to a purchase
For years, the formula was simple: If you were visible on search engines, you had a good chance of making a sale. SEO, SEA, and performance marketing determined which brands got attention online and which products were bought. Today, however, Google is by no means the only starting point for the customer journey.
Shoppers now discover products via countless different routes:
- AI assistants
- Social media
- Content produced by creators
- Online marketplaces
- Retail media
Consumers ask ChatGPT for recommendations, stumble across TikTok trends, or make purchases straight from platforms like Amazon. Search engines haven’t disappeared, but they’re now just one of many touchpoints along the customer journey.
That’s why it’s no longer enough for marketers to optimize content for individual channels. A new approach is needed: discoverability.
Discoverability: When search gives way to recommendations
Discoverability is a step beyond visibility. It’s no longer enough to simply be present on search engines. Brands must appear wherever people are finding products and making purchasing decisions today – whether on Google, in a Claude chat, or on Instagram.
So, the key question is: How can I get recommended at as many relevant decision points as possible?
Consider this example: If someone asks an AI assistant which running shoes they should buy for their next marathon, the answer is no longer determined solely by a search engine ranking. The recommendation is based on product data, test reports, reviews, expert opinions, and brand reputation.
Today, when someone scrolls through a feed, they often encounter products they would never have searched for. This is changing the customer journey – purchasing decisions are already being made during the inspiration stage, long before the user even opens a search engine.
Vesselina Markova-Kauffmann (Pinterest), one of the Social & Discovery Commerce Lab Leads within the Ecommerce working group at the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW), also highlights this trend and the prominent role played by social commerce:
“Shopping begins long before the search bar comes into play. The customer journey is changing. Today, the specific intention to buy is often preceded by inspiration – from feeds and visual environments. As discovery becomes the new search, brands that communicate visually are able to reach people even before they know what they want to buy. And that’s precisely where the purchasing decision begins.”
The only way forward is to think differently: From silos to ecosystems
This development is also fundamentally changing the way companies view marketing. In the past, teams generally worked independently of one another to optimize brand messaging to suit their respective channels. Today, the same content is used simultaneously across search engines, AI systems, social media, online marketplaces, and retail media environments, making discoverability a team effort.
Different disciplines must work together to achieve the best results:
- SEO ensures that information is easily found and understood.
- Content marketing provides context and demonstrates expertise.
- Retail media generates visibility on retail platforms.
- Creators and communities build trust.
- PR strengthens reputation.
- Branding increases the likelihood of even making it onto the shortlist of sources and mentions in the first place.
David Sandström, CMO of Klarna, will explore why having a strong brand is even more important in a world dominated by AI systems and recommendations in his keynote speech at DMEXCO 2026, “Everyone’s Talking About AI. Let’s Talk About Brand.”
What AI systems need to make recommendations
From ChatGPT to TikTok, Amazon, and conventional search engines, all systems make recommendations based on signals. That’s where you need to focus your optimization efforts.
The most important signals include:
- Complete, structured product data
- High-quality product descriptions
- Authentic ratings and reviews
- Relevant content and examples of use
- Expert opinions and media mentions
- Brand profile and reputation
- Up-to-date availability and pricing information
An AI assistant can only recommend what it understands and considers trustworthy. The more complete, up-to-date, and consistent this information is, the greater the chances are it will be included in recommendations.
And this doesn’t just apply to AI systems. Search engines, online marketplaces, and social platforms also use similar quality and trust signals to evaluate content. Good product data, relevant content, and a strong reputation can therefore give you a decisive competitive advantage.
Discoverability check: How visible is your brand really?
Answer these five questions to test how discoverable your brand actually is today.
- Would an AI assistant recommend your product based on available data?
- Do customers understand the benefits of your product without needing to visit your website
- Are your product data, content, and reviews consistent and up-to-date?
- Can potential customers find your brand outside of conventional search engines?
- Is your brand present in the spaces where customers actually make purchasing decisions?
If there are several of these questions you can’t confidently answer with a “yes,” it’s probably worth taking a closer look at your discoverability strategy. After all, you can’t rely on a single touchpoint to ensure visibility anymore – it develops along the entire customer journey.
The takeaway: Discoverability is an ecosystem discipline
SEO is still important. But visibility is no longer exclusively determined by search engines. Discoverability broadens the field to include all the spaces where people seek inspiration, ask questions, or get recommendations. And that’s precisely why channel-first thinking is increasingly giving way to ecosystem thinking.
Going forward, the key question will no longer be, “How can I get found?” but rather, “Why should a human or an AI system recommend me?” If you can give a convincing answer to this question, you’ll set yourself on course for lasting visibility, regardless of where the customer journey begins.
