Over 1.3 billion people use AI tools to research and make decisions daily. Many of these decisions include which brands or products to buy.

A few months ago, I wanted to buy a digital piano. I had a couple of options within my budget, so I typed the brands and models into ChatGPT and asked for a recommendation.

After a few follow-up questions, it gave me an analysis of each option, along with a comparison table of their features. It recommended one option, which I eventually bought.

Today, many people can make buying decisions without seeing a brand’s ads, SEO-optimized webpages, or social media pages. They can simply rely on their super intelligent AI tools to make a buying decision.

As a result, many aspects of brand and growth strategy have been reshaped by AI adoption. This article discusses three of those areas.

1. AI Has Expanded the Definition of the “Audience”

A critical part of brand strategy is identifying who makes the buying decision and tailoring the brand’s message to influence the buyer’s decision in your favor.

For example, a brand selling diapers for babies needs to communicate primarily with the adults who make the buying decisions, not the babies. However, the product experience still matters for the baby as the end user.

Brands must also consider those who have an audience with the people who make the buying decisions.

For instance, a diaper brand may communicate with childcare experts or pediatricians who can recommend products to parents.

AI introduces a new dimension to this framework.

Many people now outsource parts of their decision-making process to AI tools. As a result, generative AI systems are becoming a part of the brand audience, as intermediaries in the buying journey.

Brands must now consider AI not just as a tool, but as a decision influencer and recommender. This is one of the most significant shifts in modern brand and marketing communication strategy.

2. AI Is Influencing What Brands Say

AI tools can now generate web content, ad copy, and marketing messages in seconds. As a result, many brands increasingly rely on AI to produce communication materials.

This has led to a subtle but important shift: brand messaging is now increasingly influenced by AI systems.

One consequence is a growing similarity in tone, structure, and messaging. Many brands now sound alike, reducing differentiation, one of Marty Neumeier’s core disciplines of effective branding.

Without strong creative direction, brands risk blending into a sea of AI-generated content.

3. AI Is Changing Where Brand Discovery Happens

Before AI, brand discovery largely happened through social media, search engines, and paid advertising.

Today, discovery increasingly happens inside AI-generated responses.

AI tools can recommend specific products and services directly to users. In many cases, this becomes the first point of contact between the user and the brand.

I have had specific products and services recommended to me by AI. I still double check these brands on their websites or social media pages, but the fact remains that my first contact with them was an AI chat.

Hence, brands need to invest in AI tools as a touchpoint.This shift introduces a new strategic priority: optimizing for AI-driven discovery.

This is where Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) comes in.

While still evolving, GEO focuses on making content easily interpretable by AI systems, prioritizing clarity, structured information, and semantic relevance, rather than traditional SEO tactics like keyword density or backlinks alone.

Conclusion

AI is becoming both the buyer and the seller. The buyer because it makes the buying decision for its user. The Seller because it influences brand and marketing messaging from the brand.

It is reshaping: Who brands communicate with (now including AI as an intermediary): What brands say (increasing AI influence on messaging), and Where brands are discovered (within AI-generated environments).

To win in this new landscape, brands need to ensure that their brands systems are understood, trusted, and recommended by AI, without losing their sense of uniqueness.