As AI-powered search tools increasingly surface answers from closed-loop environments, without necessarily driving traffic back to your site or paid media, brand equity becomes your most defensible asset. Just like in the days of SEO and social, brands with high awareness, strong reputations, and clear digital presence are more likely to be recommended by AI product search engines. The difference now? AI is the filter, and your content must already be authoritative to be included.
That is why continued investment in demand generation beyond the AI search walled gardens, including Reddit, Meta, Amazon, and CTV, is essential. It is not just about buying traffic. It is about consistently showing up and building trust across paid, earned, and owned channels, which all feed into how Generative Engine Optimization models evaluate and rank your brand.
It is important to note that, unlike traditional paid search or programmatic ads, AI-generated shopping results do not always surface or prioritize paid placements directly, but paid media still plays a vital role in fueling the signals AI looks for. A successful Generative Engine Optimization strategy encompasses not only optimizing your product pages but also creating the optimal media mix to enhance brand authority across all channels. Here is how:
Generative Engine Optimization drives engagement on your owned and earned assets
When you run paid media that directs traffic to your brand website or high-performing retailer product pages, you generate clicks, time on site, and conversions. These are signals that search engines and AI-driven shopping platforms may use to evaluate your content’s authority.
Generative Engine Optimization amplifies user-generated content, earned media, and reviews
Paid creator campaigns, influencer partnerships, and whitelisted ads increase the volume and visibility of UGC, which AI shopping tools often summarize or reference when recommending products. Mentions of your brand in editorial articles, product roundups, news features, and expert reviews can directly influence how and where your brand is featured in generative AI search engine optimization environments, especially when they link to your product pages or contain keywords AI uses for context.
Generative Engine Optimization improves the performance of content already referenced by AI
If AI is pulling from your product pages or retailer listings, optimizing those pages with better-performing paid creatives, such as visuals, headlines, and pricing, improves downstream engagement and conversions, which in turn makes them more likely to be elevated by AI commerce engines.
These are essential components of AI in marketing, where performance depends less on traditional ad placements and more on brand presence across ecosystems that feed into AI summaries.
Brands asking how brands are using AI to win across search, social, and shoppable platforms will find the answer in how consistently they apply Generative Engine Optimization across all touchpoints.
How MikMak Helps Brands Show Up in AI Shopping Searches
MikMak connects your paid, organic, and owned media efforts to actual retail outcomes. Through closed-loop measurement across platforms like Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, and CTV, brands can identify which SKU, creative, and retailer combinations are driving conversions. This allows for smarter investments that support both performance and visibility in AI commerce.
