I know what you’re thinking, writes Josh Faulks, CEO of the AANA, do we really need another article on AI? It’s all going to change in a month anyway.
Yes, the hype cycle is at full volume right now — you can’t open LinkedIn, attend a conference, or watch the news without being hit with hot takes about AI being the biggest disrupter since sliced bread.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just hype. This is real. AI isn’t just another tool in the tech stack — it’s already reshaping how people discover, choose, and stick with brands. And it’s happening faster than anything we’ve seen before.
Electricity took decades to spread. The internet and mobile phones took years. Consumers are adopting AI in months.
Blink, and the rules of the game have changed already.
And here’s the kicker: if brands don’t adapt, they don’t just fall behind. They risk disappearing altogether.
From page one to “just one”
Remember when winning on Google Search was about clawing your way to page one of the search results? Or when brand battles were fought on supermarket shelves and prime-time TV? Those days feel quaint compared to what’s coming.
AI is changing the consumer journey from ten blue links to just one recommendation. Ask your AI assistant what the safest car is, or which skincare brand to buy, and you’ll likely get a single, confident answer. That’s it. No scrolling. No second page.
And here’s where brand equity becomes critical. If your brand isn’t visible to the model — through reviews, data sources, trust signals, or even cultural relevance — you’re invisible to your customer.
As Publicis Groupe’s Maurice Riley put it, “You can’t control the AI models, but you can influence what they see.”
That is the new battleground: share of model.
Share of model: the new share of shelf
Think of it like share of shelf in retail, or share of search in Google. Share of model is about how often your brand shows up in AI-generated recommendations compared to your competitors.
In a future where AI systems will not only suggest brands but act on your behalf (hello, Agentic AI), this metric will be the difference between growth and invisibility.
Imagine your AI agent booking your next work trip — choosing flights, hotels, and car hire without you lifting a finger. If your brand isn’t in its dataset, you’re not even in the running.
So how do you win (for now)?
Here are five things to start doing now to make sure AI chooses your brand:
- Get your data sorted. AI can only work with what it can see.
- Optimise for models, not just search. Understand what training data matters and feed it.
- Double down on trust. Every review, rating, and customer interaction is a signal.
- Stay distinctive. Same rule as traditional marketing — if you don’t stand out, you don’t show up.
- Measure share of model. Track how often your brand is recommended and push to lift that number.
The bottom line
AI isn’t just another channel. It’s fundamentally rewiring how consumers make choices. The brands that embrace this shift — investing in trust, creativity, distinctiveness, and data readiness — will be the ones that thrive.
The rest? Well, they risk being skipped.
So, here’s the real question for every marketing leader: when AI makes the choice… will it choose your brand?
