AI Search Is Changing How Customers Find Your Brand: What African Marketers Should Do Now

October 15, 2026
AI Insights
6 min read

By GAA Editorial Team

For twenty years, digital marketing followed a simple model. A customer searched on Google, saw a list of links, clicked one and landed on a website. Brands competed to rank high on that list.

AI search is breaking that model. When someone asks Google, ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity a question, they increasingly get a written answer at the top of the page. Often they never click through to any website at all.

What the research shows

Bain’s survey of 1,117 US consumers, published in February 2025, found that about 80% of search users rely on AI-written summaries for at least 40% of their searches. About 60% of searches on traditional search engines now end without the user clicking through to another site. Bain estimates this “zero-click” behaviour is cutting organic web traffic by 15% to 25% (Bain, 2025).

McKinsey’s research, published in October 2025, found that about half of US consumers now intentionally seek out AI-powered search. McKinsey projects that $750 billion in US revenue will flow through AI-powered search by 2028. It warned that brands that are not ready could see traffic from traditional search fall by 20% to 50% (McKinsey, 2025).

Two findings from McKinsey stand out for marketers:

  • Your own website is a small part of the answer. A brand’s own sites make up only about 5% to 10% of the sources AI search tools draw on. Most of what AI says about your brand comes from other people’s content: reviews, news articles, forums, comparison sites, retailer listings and social media.
  • Few brands are tracking it. In a McKinsey survey of chief marketing officers at large consumer brands, only 16% said they systematically track how they perform in AI search.

Why this matters for African brands

Most of this research comes from the United States, but the direction is the same in Africa, and some local factors make it more urgent.

First, African consumers are heavy mobile users, and mobile screens show fewer results. When an AI summary takes up most of the screen, there is even less room for a brand’s link.

Second, many African businesses depend on a small number of channels for discovery: Google search, Instagram, WhatsApp and word of mouth. A drop in search traffic hits harder when there are fewer alternatives.

Third, AI tools often know less about African markets. They draw on what has been published online, and there is far less content about Nigerian, Kenyan or Ghanaian businesses than about American or European ones. If there is little reliable information about your brand in the places AI tools look, the answer a customer gets may be thin, out of date or simply about a competitor.

That last point is also an opportunity. In many African categories, the space is still open. A brand that builds a strong, consistent presence across trusted sources now can become the default answer before competitors notice the shift.

What African marketers should do now

1. Find out what AI says about you

Start with an audit. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google questions your customers would ask: “What is the best business bank in Lagos for SMEs?”, “Which logistics companies deliver from Lagos to Abuja?”, “Where can I learn financial modelling in Nigeria?” Note whether your brand appears, what is said about it, whether it is accurate and which sources the AI cites. Repeat this every month.

2. Strengthen your presence beyond your own website

Because most AI answers draw on third-party sources, your reputation across the web matters more than ever. Focus on:

  • Reviews. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google and relevant industry sites, and respond to them.
  • Media coverage. Earn coverage in respected local and regional publications. Share data, expert commentary and stories journalists can use.
  • Directories and listings. Make sure your Google Business Profile and listings on relevant directories and marketplaces are complete and consistent.
  • Communities. Take part helpfully in professional groups and forums where your customers ask questions.

3. Make your own content easy for AI to use

Your website still matters, especially as a source of facts. Bain recommends making content easier for AI systems to read and moving away from PDFs and gated content. In practice:

  • Use clear headings and answer common questions directly.
  • Include specific facts: prices, locations, opening hours, product details and credentials.
  • Add FAQ sections and structured data, so search engines can understand your pages.
  • Keep information up to date. Old prices or discontinued products can end up in AI answers.

4. Target the questions people actually ask

AI search is conversational. People ask longer, more specific questions than they used to type into a search box. Bain advises focusing on high-intent, longer and conversational queries. Build content around the real questions your sales and customer service teams hear every week.

5. Measure differently

If fewer people click, website traffic alone will understate your marketing’s impact. Bain suggests tracking search impressions and visibility in AI answers, not just clicks. Add measures such as how often your brand is mentioned in AI answers for your key questions, branded search volume, direct traffic and enquiries from new channels.

6. Build channels you own

The less you depend on search for discovery, the less exposed you are to changes in how search works. Email newsletters, WhatsApp communities, loyalty programmes and events give you direct relationships with customers that no algorithm can take away.

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An example: a Lagos training provider

Imagine a professional training company in Lagos. Its marketing team has relied on Google ads and organic search for years, and it notices that enquiries from search are slowly falling even though its rankings have not changed.

An AI search audit shows the problem. When people ask AI tools for the best places to learn data analysis in Nigeria, the answers mention two competitors that have been covered in business news and have many recent reviews. The company is not mentioned at all.

Its plan is simple. It asks recent graduates for reviews, pitches a short data-driven article to two business publications, rewrites its course pages to answer the questions prospective students actually ask, and starts a WhatsApp community for alumni. Three months later, it checks the same AI questions again to see what has changed.

Using AI in your own marketing

AI search is a threat to old habits, but AI is also a powerful tool for marketers. Teams can use it to research customer questions, draft and test content, analyse campaign results and personalise messages at scale. The marketers who will do best understand both sides: how AI changes the way customers find brands, and how to use AI to work faster and smarter themselves. Responsible use matters too. Check AI-generated content for accuracy, protect customer data under laws such as the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, and be honest with customers about how you use their information.

The bottom line

AI search is changing how customers discover brands, and the change is happening fast. Marketers who keep measuring success only by clicks and rankings will see their results slowly erode without understanding why. Those who audit their AI visibility, build a strong presence across trusted sources and invest in channels they own will be in a far stronger position.

For African brands, there is a window of opportunity while many categories are still open. The time to act is now.

If you want a structured way to rethink your marketing for the AI era, Growth Engine walks you through it step by step. If you are new to AI tools, start with the AI Skills Sprint.

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Sources

Learning Portal