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Marketing in the AI era
There is a test that often changes the tone of a meeting: describe a customer need without mentioning our brand and observe which alternatives appear. When we see a competitor, the conversation stops being abstract.
Start with the question a customer would ask
If we ask directly about our company, we are already introducing its name into the conversation. That test can help us review how we are described. To investigate opportunities for presence, we also need questions that arise from a need, a comparison or a decision.
Think of someone looking for a solution for a particular sector, assessing suppliers or trying to understand which option meets certain conditions. Should our brand be part of that conversation? Why? That second question forces us to connect the analysis with the company’s actual offering.
Seeing someone else does not tell us why they appear
It is easy to attribute the difference to an immediate cause: they publish more, have a better website or are ahead in SEO. Some of those hypotheses may be worth investigating. But one answer cannot prove them.
We need to review context and evidence. Which question was analysed, which brands appear, how they are presented and which sources or pages support the answer when that information is available. The assessment must distinguish the observation from our initial explanation.
Which competitors are we comparing?
The competitive set also requires judgement. Some companies are rivals because of their offering, market and positioning. Others may emerge in AI answers even though they were not on our list.
Both observations are useful, but they should not be combined without review. In VISORY, Competitive Standing uses a validated strategic set within the same market and measurement period. Emerging competitors are investigated as an additional signal. This prevents every appearance from automatically changing the analytical framework.
Absence needs a business interpretation
Imagine, for example, a company experienced in hospital solutions that appears in general technology questions but is missing from comparisons for that sector. The absence matters if that territory is part of its strategy and there is enough evidence to study it.
The next step is to investigate whether the capability is clearly explained, which questions remain open and which sources describe that expertise. We may need more specific content, clearer documentation or PR work with relevant sources. The recommendation should emerge from the analysis, rather than a predetermined recipe.
From benchmarking to priorities
Comparison helps us decide where to investigate and act. It can reveal territories with weak coverage, choice-related questions with little signal or sources where others have support. It may also show that a brand is well positioned in an area worth strengthening.
VISORY connects this view with Visibility, Origin and Relevance, among other dimensions. Prompts and opportunities support deeper investigation; expert judgement relates findings to the brand’s objectives.
Then look again
An audit is a starting point. If the team implements initiatives, we will need comparable measurements to observe what changes. Maintaining the scope helps us interpret progress more carefully.
The aim is not to turn every answer into a contest. It is to understand whether the brand occupies spaces that make sense for its business and what it can work on to build a better-supported position.
