66% of marketers bet on ChatGPT to control product discovery by 2026
A new Adobe Express survey of 1,000 US marketers and business owners points to a simple conclusion: the next fight for discovery won't be on traditional SERPs. It will play out inside AI assistants. Most respondents expect ChatGPT to lead the way by 2026, with Google's generative search close behind.
If you own acquisition, this matters. Your brand could be summarized into a single answer, not a page of links. That shifts how products get found, judged, and bought.
Short on time? Jump to a section
- Which AI platforms marketers believe will drive discovery in 2026
- How marketers think AI recommendation systems will rank products
- Trust, opportunity, and perceived risk in AI shopping
- Strategic implications for marketing leaders
- The future of marketing: AI transformations by 2026
Which AI platforms marketers believe will drive discovery in 2026
Marketers are placing early bets. According to the survey, 66% believe ChatGPT will drive product discovery by 2026. Google's Search Generative Experience is next at 45%, followed by Meta AI integrations at 26%.
Smaller but notable shares point to Microsoft Copilot (15%), TikTok AI features (12%), and Amazon's Rufus (12%). That looks less like a winner-take-all market and more like a spread across multiple assistants.
Behavior is set to split as well: 54% expect consumers to use AI tools and traditional search equally within two years. Another 36% think AI will take the lead, while only 10% expect legacy search to stay dominant.
How marketers think AI recommendation systems will rank products
Marketers expect mixed signals to drive rankings. About 35% think AI tools will weigh product relevance, customer reviews, and brand trust together. Another 26% expect a balance between relevance and ad spend.
Meanwhile, 14% anticipate pay-to-play dynamics, 12% think product fit alone will decide, and 3% cite strategic partnerships as the top factor. Translation: the market isn't sure how monetization will affect visibility, but credibility and clarity aren't optional.
Trust, opportunity, and perceived risk in AI shopping
Sentiment skews positive. Nearly half (48%) see AI-driven shopping as an opportunity, while just 9% view it as a threat. Still, trust is the swing factor.
About 38% trust AI platforms to surface products fairly regardless of ad budgets, while 23% don't. And 39% believe customers will trust AI recommendations as much as peer or influencer reviews. If that holds, assistants stop being search tools and start acting like advisors.
Strategic implications for marketing leaders
- AI assistants become new gatekeepers. Recommendations may be delivered as direct answers. If you're not in the short list, you may be invisible. Monitor how assistants describe your brand and products, not just how you rank on SERPs.
- Reviews, clarity, and product relevance matter more. With 35% expecting relevance, reviews, and brand trust to drive rankings, invest in product detail quality, verified reviews, and plain-language positioning. Strong fundamentals can outperform bigger ad checks.
- Consumer trust in AI is rising. If customers view AI guidance like peer reviews, you gain (or lose) credibility at the answer level. Keep claims consistent across site, feeds, and support content. Mismatches will get compressed into negative summaries.
- AI investment is now a line item. Budgets for AI readiness are expected to rise from 21% to 29% by 2026. Treat AI discovery like a core channel with clear owners, KPIs, and workflows.
What to do now: a practical 90-day plan
1) Make your catalog AI-readable
- Fix titles, attributes, specs, and images. Remove jargon; state use cases and who it's for.
- Publish consistent data to product pages, feeds, and merchant centers. Map features to outcomes.
- Add structured data (schema) for products, ratings, and FAQs to help assistants parse context.
2) Build review quality and credibility
- Increase volume, recency, and verified-buyer signals. Highlight pros/cons and common comparisons.
- Reply to negative reviews with solutions. Assistants pick up on response patterns and tone.
- Follow endorsement rules to avoid trust penalties. See the FTC's guidance on reviews and endorsements here.
3) Create comparison and "help me choose" content
- Write clear comparisons vs. common alternatives, price tiers, and "best for X" scenarios.
- Answer objections in plain language: durability, fit, compatibility, returns, warranties.
- Condense key facts into bullet summaries; assistants often quote concise, structured copy.
4) Instrument and monitor AI answers
- Track inclusion rate: how often your products appear in assistant answers for target intents.
- Run weekly test prompts (use real buyer tasks). Log phrasing used to describe your brand.
- Close gaps fast: update pages, feeds, and FAQs to correct wrong or stale info.
5) Balance paid and organic in assistants
- Expect blended models: relevance plus paid. Test sponsored placements where available.
- Protect brand terms, but prioritize product-market fit and clarity. Ad dollars can't fix weak positioning.
6) Governance, data, and KPIs
- Assign ownership across SEO, paid, product, and CX. Create an "AI summary quality" review.
- Core KPIs: AI share-of-voice, answer inclusion rate, sentiment in summaries, assisted conversion.
- Document claims and sources to keep assistants consistent across regions and languages.
The future of marketing: AI transformations by 2026
Discovery is moving from search boxes to conversations. Instead of scanning links, customers will ask assistants to shortlist, compare, and recommend. That compresses the funnel and rewards brands with clear positioning, strong proof, and clean data.
The upside is real for teams that prepare now. Tighten your product data, invest in reviews, ship comparison content, and measure inclusion in assistant answers. Treat AI assistants like a new retail shelf-then earn your spot.
Need a structured roadmap? Explore the AI Learning Path for Marketing Directors for strategy, governance, and execution guidance tailored to marketing leaders.
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