What do you need to do to make sure your brand is AI-ready?

We had a staggering response, so look out for the second installment of this vox pop at the beginning of next week.

Conor Bant, head of media and performance, Fox Agency

“With Google’s AI summaries, Gemini, and tools such as ChatGPT providing information instantly, research has found that around 60% of searches now end before a click. Visibility is no longer solely about position on a search page, but about being embedded in the answer itself.

“This is where generative engine optimization (GEO) and language engine optimization (LEO) come into play. Brands must be credible, quotable, and trusted by the AI systems curating those answers. That trust and the future of discoverability lie in the integration of disciplines: PR to build authority, digital marketing to amplify reach, content to convey expertise, and technical optimization to make it all machine-readable.

“Firstly, brands must create content that is original, insight-rich, and clearly attributable to their organization. It’s about structuring and surfacing content in ways that make it consumable and trustworthy when large language models (LLMs) generate responses. This includes question-based content, expert insights, clear formatting, and context-rich material.

“GEO will also necessitate the re-prioritization of earned media, as LLMs lean on high-authority sources to pull insights from. If your brand is being referenced by respected media, you are more likely to be surfaced in AI-driven responses. To further amplify discoverability, owned and paid media will provide the depth, structure, and technical optimization that AI can easily parse.

“In this new search economy, you cannot game the system with volume or generic copy. Authority, originality, and trust are the new currency. When your brand becomes the reference point, the click is unlikely to matter, but the answer will.”

Jody Osman, chief growth officer, Propeller Group

“There’s no doubt the way people search for information – and the way it’s presented back to them – is changing. The real challenge now is understanding how much attention people give to AI-generated answers beyond those opening sentences and how brands (and agencies) can shape and optimize the information that appears.

“Businesses need to signal their credibility and expertise by appearing in authoritative and credible sources (such as The Drum) with cogent, compelling, and contextually explained articles. With that in mind, high-quality earned PR matters more than ever.

“The same principles apply to content created for owned channels. When combined with best-practice SEO, this approach can significantly improve visibility in both traditional and AI-driven search. It’s also worth heeding what AI search platforms say about their own sources. For example, the Perplexity help center explains: “Perplexity searches the internet, gathering information from authoritative sources like articles, websites, and journals.”

Heather Physioc, chief discoverability officer, VML

“My view is that it’s going to get worse before it gets better in terms of content quality, but the AI platforms themselves have every incentive to prioritize accuracy and trustworthiness for long-term success. For brands looking to appear favorably in these new AI results, I advise three main priorities.

“First, have holistic discoverability beyond owned properties. Get beyond Google alone, because AI discoverability is important from social to search to commerce engines. It’s about being present and discoverable no matter when, where, why, or how people search. We see search behavior change as people in the search mindset seek to pursue content in different search engines, social channels, and apps individually – and collectively, these create the understanding and source material LLMs are citing to generate answers.

“Second, double down on credibility and authority signals. To float to the top of the AI ‘slop,’ brands must over-index on authority signals. Accuracy of answers and trustworthiness of the sources to generate those answers will be the next big frontier of AI search competitors. This means creating content based on human input, things like verifiable human creators, deep expertise, and unique perspectives, or original reporting and proprietary data. Human authority and genuine credibility will be paramount.

“Finally, connect the pipes across your marketing mix. It’s critical to connect information and content across different channels and platforms. This paints a clearer picture of customer needs in context, ensuring more complete, contextual content is available to appear in synthesized AI answers. Higher-funnel content, while potentially at risk from AI summaries, can also drive awareness if adapted to new formats and platforms.”

Aengus Boyle, vice-president, media, VaynerMedia EMEA

“We’re shifting from a world of ranking to one of answering. The era of ‘gaming’ search engines with long, drawn-out content is over. Now, success is about providing accurate, concise, and helpful answers as efficiently as possible.

“To be AI-search ready, brands must prioritize clarity and readability across all content. Website content should use clear headlines (H2 and H3) with key questions. Answers should then be placed within the first two lines and have bold, easy-to-understand information. It’s all about copy that will read clearly when scraped into an AI summary.

“For social and video, brands need to optimize every element of their video content for discoverability. We’re talking keywords and target questions in YouTube titles, video descriptions, and captions. They should also use text overlays in videos on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to provide further native context for AI tools. This is especially important as we’re starting to see AI overviews on Google and LLMs pulling video content or links into their responses. We’d also advise that brands monitor and contribute to third-party platforms that LLMs frequently scrape, such as Reddit, Quora, and Wikipedia.

“Finally, it sounds basic, but brands need to measure, monitor, and regularly adapt with this fast-evolving technology, continuously monitoring their first-party data for changes in consumer behavior while staying up-to-date with industry developments. A commitment to constant testing and iteration is crucial for discovering what drives LLM visibility and staying ahead of the curve.”

Harry Calvin Williams, director of growth, Found

“Brand is back. Search engines once organized information; AI now interprets it. We’re quickly moving from search engines to ‘answer engines,’ and when people use tools like ChatGPT, they often never click through to a brand’s site. To win here, you need what LLMs value most: authority, utility, and topical depth. Brand optimization is the bridge, a strategic mix of audience insight, subject mastery, and value delivery across every channel you use. In an age when rich, helpful answers are a prompt away, your brand must be the reference point worth citing, not just the website waiting for a visit.”

Stephan Kopp, managing director, Mediaplus Performance

“Today, visibility isn’t about topping a list of ‘10 blue links’ – it’s about being recognized by LLMs as a trusted, relevant source worth citing. That means thinking beyond traditional SEO and becoming part of the constantly updated, high-authority corpus that AI systems pull from. Classic PR has new power here: mentions, citations, and credible links in respected outlets are far more likely to show up in AI-generated answers than keyword-heavy blog posts.

“Content still needs to be technically sound – schema markup, structured data, and FAQs make it easier for machines to read – but depth and context matter more than ever. As AI search goes multimodal, photos, videos, and interactive tools are becoming valuable answer sources too.

“Paid search is shifting as well, with research showing that CTRs for Google Ads are dropping as AI-generated answers replace many clicks. But new ad formats are emerging inside AI results – from native placements to sponsored follow-up questions – and early movers will benefit most.

“Looking ahead, as AI agents start making more purchasing decisions, brands will need structured, real-time data and secure transaction systems these agents can trust – outweighing the role of branding, design, or psychology. In this new era of ‘answer engines,’ the real advantage will go to those who become the source AI turns to first.”

Raquel Pinto, senior digital PR executive, Propellernet

“If you want to show up in AI search results ASAP, skip the full-blown tech audit – reactive PR is your quickest win.

“A new Muck Rack report analyzed over half a million chatbot queries and found that when you ask about recent topics, AI cites news articles 49% of the time. For everything else, that number drops by half. So your best shot at appearing in today’s AI answers is being in today’s news.

“On a practical approach, when you spot a trend, think ‘what would this make someone ask ChatGPT?’ LLMs aren’t Google; they work like conversations, full of tangents and oddly specific questions. Your story needs to align with that and still has to pass the journalists’ ‘sniff test.’

“When it comes to outreach, remember AI trusts niche experts as much as big names. Last month, we debunked a viral motoring rumor going around on TikTok, and hours later, ChatGPT was citing us because we got a placement in relevant trade press.

“Reactive PR is your best chance to become part of AI's knowledge base fast.”

Melissa Hamilton, SVP integrated production and creative technology, Momentum Worldwide

“Right now, we’re having a lot of conversations about the role of language as a companion to our experiences. Flashy videos and beautifully shot photography may impress all the humans, but they don’t register with AI tools – at least not yet. What large language models do understand is text: clear, contextual, and conversational. That’s why we’re actively guiding our clients to shape their digital footprint alongside their experiences, using human-sounding, accessible language.

“Elements like event landing pages, social captions, or email invitations all need thoughtful description, context, and framing. Words now play a dual role: they communicate with your audience and signal relevance and authority to AI systems.

“But that doesn’t mean we shift from keyword stuffing to ‘prompt padding’ or whatever we want to call it. We’re also talking a lot about credibility. LLMs prioritize information from trusted sources. So the more our events are talked about in public, reputable spaces – media outlets, blogs, social platforms – the stronger the brand’s visibility becomes within these AI-driven searches. A smart, well-timed PR strategy can amplify that reach, increasing the chances our events will show up (and show up accurately) in AI-generated responses.

“While AI is helping us streamline productivity in countless ways within our agency, it’s worth pausing to consider the language surrounding your experiences. LLMs reward content that is text-based, human, and widely shared. To get our events to stand out in these evolving modes of search, we’re looking closely at the words – and making sure they live in all the right places for AI to find, read, and recognize.”

Elle Pollicott, organic performance director, Connective3

“A technically sound site and engaging content will continue to be the foundation to rank within LLMs – after all, you need relevant content on-site to be featured in the first place.”

“To get more features, you’ll need to increase your brand authority, which can be done in two ways. Firstly, by increasing brand mentions through digital PR – these are becoming more important than links when it comes to appearing in AI searches. Secondly, by increasing your social presence.

“To increase brand awareness, you’ll need to be visible across the different channels users are searching for content – that means posting relevant video content across the likes of TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as posting on-site content. Just ensure your videos are optimized for the searches people are making across different channels, so they’ll appear not only in-platform, but can be indexed by Google and picked up on AI searches – LLMs and AI mode bring back video content, as well as written content.”

Rick Tousseyn, global SEO manager, Team Lewis

“AI is quickly becoming the new search engine, and brands need to start optimizing for it. Muck Rack recently looked at over a million LLM answers and found that 95% of the links AI searches cite come from non-paid media, mainly journalism and owned content. So, if you want your brand to show up in these results, it’s time to move beyond traditional SEO and PR and start thinking about AIO (AI optimization).

“First, keep an eye on your AI search visibility. Use LLM monitoring tools to see where your brand is being mentioned across platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others. Next, focus on earned media: journalistic coverage accounts for 27% of AI citations and nearly half when it comes to timely topics. Make sure your owned content is AI-friendly, credible, authoritative, and regularly updated. AI loves fresh, reliable, and expert-backed information.

“The bottom line? Treat AI like the next big search engine and get ready for a future where social signals and other content formats matter too. Track your performance, get your brand into trusted outlets, and publish content that combines expertise with journalistic relevance.”