AI assistants are siphoning intent from classifieds. Here's what marketers should do next
Markets have taken a hit as investors wake up to a simple shift: people can now ask an AI to find homes, jobs, or cars without clicking into a portal. That risk alone has wiped billions off leading classifieds businesses.
Engines like ChatGPT and others are getting good at answering high-intent queries directly. That means fewer visits to traditional marketplaces, lower ad inventory, and tighter funnels for everyone who relies on those clicks.
There's fresh chatter that UK property portal Rightmove could again be in the sights of REA Group. Whether or not a deal happens, consolidation pressure is real when growth is capped and distribution is shifting.
What's actually changing
- Zero-click behavior: assistants answer with options in-line, cutting traffic to listings pages.
- Aggregation moves up the stack: AI becomes the "start page" for intent, not your homepage or SEO result.
- Ad inventory pressure: fewer pageviews on portals equals fewer slots and higher prices for the ones that remain.
- CAC inflation risk: as discovery centralizes, bidding wars intensify around fewer high-intent surfaces.
Why classifieds and aggregators feel exposed
- SEO dependence: assistants rewrite and compress results, reducing organic click-through.
- Commoditized supply: if listings look the same everywhere, assistants treat them as interchangeable.
- Thin brand moats: low differentiation makes it easy for AI to re-route demand.
The marketer's playbook for the assistant era
- Make your data machine-readable: implement schema for jobs, properties, and autos, and keep feeds clean and fresh. Start with Google's guidance on structured data: Search Central.
- Offer assistants a direct feed: stand up a reliable listings API or export. Accuracy, freshness, and completeness win inclusion.
- Instrument assistant referrals: add UTM conventions for "assistant" sources; track queries answered vs. clicked to see where to push content or paid placements.
- Ship content that earns citations: comparisons, local expertise, and outcome data that assistants can quote. Thin listicles won't get picked.
- Strengthen trust signals: verified ratings, identity checks, transaction guarantees. Assistants weight confidence; so do buyers.
- Restructure SEM: bias budgets to bottom-of-funnel and brand protection. Expect fewer broad-match winners as assistants absorb generic queries.
- Rebuild remarketing: rely less on portal audiences. Grow first-party email/SMS and server-side events tied to value moments.
- Test assistant surfaces early: where available, try sponsored answers or "preferred provider" placements to learn creative, attribution, and unit economics.
If you run a marketplace or portal
- Build an "answer layer": natural-language search, quality scoring, and conversation UX on your own property.
- Partner widely: negotiate inclusion with major assistants and offer warranty-grade data quality.
- Create member-only value: exclusive inventory, faster verification, bundled insurance, or financing-benefits an assistant can't fully replicate.
- Own unique supply: exclusive deals and first-look inventory protect demand even as assistants aggregate.
- Arm your sellers: AI tools for ad creation, pricing, and lead handling improve outcomes and reduce churn.
KPIs and budget shifts to expect
- New share metrics: assistant impression share, citation share, and "answer inclusion rate."
- From CPM to outcomes: optimize to cost per qualified inquiry or viewing, not pageviews.
- First-party growth: LTV tied to signed-in rate, repeat usage, and cross-sell-not just acquisition volume.
90-day plan
- Map top 100 queries by intent. Identify which assistants already answer them and who gets cited.
- Fix structured data and feeds. Ensure completeness, canonical URLs, and deduplication.
- Set up assistant source tracking and dashboards. Add weekly reviews to your growth standups.
- Pilot two content formats that earn citations: local market snapshots and side-by-side comparisons.
12-month roadmap
- Stand up or upgrade your listings API. Add freshness SLAs and monitoring.
- Negotiate distribution with 2-3 assistants. Offer technical support and co-marketing.
- Launch brand trust programs: verified providers, guarantees, and dispute resolution.
- Rebalance media mix. Shift budget from broad top-funnel to assistant placements and high-intent performance.
M&A backdrop to watch
As assistant-led discovery expands, scale and data advantages matter more. That's why rumors swirl around assets like Rightmove and buyers like REA Group. Expect more deals as players seek distribution, unique supply, or defensible margins.
Useful resources
- Structured data basics: Google Search Central
- Test how assistants answer your queries: ChatGPT
Want to upskill your team
If you're reworking search, content, and attribution for assistant-led discovery, this practical program helps: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.
Your membership also unlocks:
