The Familiar Ring of Disruption

There is something oddly comforting and simultaneously terrifying about artificial intelligence in marketing. It feels brand new, but the challenges it presents are anything but. Marketing has always been a game of adaptation, and AI is simply the latest rulebook change. We have been here before, with the rise of social media, the dominance of search engines, and the fragmentation of television.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about AI is that it is new yet nothing new at all. It is certainly shaking up the marketing world, bringing with it a host of fresh concerns. However, the scale of this shift might not be as massive as the headlines suggest. Last year, the CMO Survey reported that only 17.2% of marketers were using AI to optimize or automate their work. While that number will likely jump this year, the three year projection from marketers last year was only 44.2%.

Same Problems, Different Tools

Marketing innovations almost never represent a radical departure from the past. They tend to be new ways of solving the same old problems. This is definitely the case with AI. Take search behavior, for instance. A recent study found that 37% of brand related searches now start with an AI tool instead of a traditional search engine. This is a big shift, but it hardly represents a new kind of problem.

We saw the same panic when Amazon became a major competitor for initial product searches. The challenge then was exactly what it is now: shifting strategies and investments to meet consumers where they live. AI will require change, but the fundamental task of getting in front of a potential customer is nothing new. Brands simply have to adjust their tactics accordingly again.

The Invisibility Issue and the New SEO

A study by Uberall found that 83% of restaurants are effectively invisible in AI search because they do not get mentioned when people ask for recommendations. This sounds like a crisis, but it is simply the latest version of the old struggle to get on the first page of Google. The task is the same: getting into the consumer’s consideration set. What we used to call SEO, we now call GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization. It is just a new name for an old challenge. It is about crafting content and brand information that large language models will pick up.

Influencing the New Influencers

Another area where AI feels new but acts old is in the realm of influence. People are increasingly relying on AI for product comparisons and purchasing recommendations. In this sense, AI has become the ultimate influencer of demand. But influencing influencers is a task marketers have mastered over decades. From children influencing mothers to friends influencing friends to content creators influencing followers on social media, the process is well established.

Marketers may need to go back to school to learn the technical nuances of AI, but the basic idea of swaying an intermediary to recommend a product is no different than before. The challenge here is getting the attention of the large language models. And attention, as many of you know, was the hot topic in marketing immediately before AI appeared. In fact, attention is a problem as old as marketing itself, dating back to the original inverted pyramid model for media buying developed in 1961.

Consistency in a Fragmented World

Marketers also worry that AI only cares about facts and not emotions, and that it will operate independently of brand efforts to enforce consistency. These concerns are also not new. The Coca Cola Company had this same fear when it decided not to use its flagship brand name for its first diet cola, naming it Tab instead. This fear of losing control over messaging was a central issue when Larry Light introduced the concept of brand journalism for McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign.

It has been an ongoing struggle as media channels have proliferated and fragmented. Managing an army of independent influencers today is a constant battle to maintain a unified brand voice. So, nothing about this is new for AI. Brands will have to manage consistency differently for this new channel, but the issue of consistency is an age old marketing challenge.

Where the Real Change Begins

So far, everything we have discussed is old wine in a new bottle. But there is one aspect of AI that is fundamentally different and new. In the past, humans have always been the audience for awareness, attention, recommendations, and influence. That is still true for today’s AI tools, but this is about to change. Marketers will soon have to learn how to advertise to algorithms. This is because AI is transforming shoppers into agents.

Consumers will eventually delegate the entire shopping and buying process to AI agents. This means that much of the future marketplace will be AI to AI interaction. Everything about marketing in the past has been designed for human audiences. Every theoretical concept, every practical application, and every strategy has been about persuading humans. When consumers hand off their shopping decisions to AI, humans will be completely out of the loop. This is a problem marketers have never had to face. Algorithms or AI itself will soon be the target audience.

Preparing for Tomorrow Today

Until that future arrives, marketers would do well not to get ahead of themselves or feel intimidated by the current changes. The nature of today’s challenges with AI is identical to the challenges of the past. Marketers have successfully met these challenges before, and there is no reason to suspect anything different now, as long as people are still on the receiving end of the message.

This is a perfect time to build skills that bridge the gap between classic marketing principles and new technology. If you are looking to master the foundations of making money online, you might consider learning how to leverage these concepts through a dedicated course. For example, my Affiliate Marketing course can help you understand how to apply these timeless strategies of influence and visibility to the digital economy. Alternatively, if you need hands on support, you can explore website design, search engine optimization, and digital marketing services with the famous trainer Nehme Sbeiti. These resources are designed to help you turn today’s new interfaces into tomorrow’s profitable brand relationships.

Looking forward, the brands that will win are not the ones that fear the algorithm, but the ones that understand that the human need for connection, trust, and relevance remains unchanged. The interface is changing, but the job of a marketer is still the same: to be seen, to be trusted, and to be chosen.