For the past 20 years, SEO has been the bedrock of digital growth, standardizing how brands get discovered online. Marketers have refined keyword strategies, sharpened content, and built technical systems to ensure their products and services rise to the top of search results. This proven mechanism for customer acquisition has fueled growth for decades, but now all that’s changing with the advent of large language models (LLMs) and generative search. According to a recent report commissioned by Adobe and conducted by Incisiv, one in five search queries will be LLM-based by 2027. CMOs need to embrace a new mechanism for search and discovery if they want to ensure this disruption of SEO doesn’t leave their brand behind.

As LLMs and generative AI rewrite the rules of search and discovery, brand trust and authentic customer connections matter more than ever. Customers are now asking open-ended questions and getting direct, conversational answers on platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. For CMOs, this is both a challenge and a rare opportunity to reimagine brand discovery.

With LLMS and generative AI overtaking traditional SEO, brands now have the opportunity to show up in ways that feel genuinely aligned with their identity. They can connect with customers through new, surprisingly human-centric experiences rather than algorithm-focused interactions. People are flocking to AI-driven search because it's quick and delivers answers that are relevant and specific enough to feel personal.

As Chief Marketing Officer for Adobe’s enterprise business, I’m excited every day about the opportunity to shape how Adobe can show up for customers and drive better brand engagement, differentiation, and growth. Understanding the shift from SEO to generative engine optimization (GEO) empowers brands and marketers to forge meaningful customer connections in this brave new agentic world — and marketing leaders who act now will define the future of brand discovery.

GEO is the new SEO.

Here’s a bit of history. In the early 2000s, CMOs built content strategies that conformed to search engine crawlers, and Google rewarded well-structured, relevant content with prominent placement in search rankings. With a solid SEO strategy, brands could develop a repeatable formula for customer acquisition, tracking conversions from top-of-the-funnel traffic to leads, opportunities, and ultimately revenue. But all of this hinged on the search results page being the primary draw. As long as a brand could afford to pay the toll for top keywords, it could count on a specific amount of traffic, leads, and revenue — basically money in, money out.

But this new phase of search isn’t just about algorithm tweaks — it’s an entirely new way of interacting with customers. GEO is the practice of optimizing content so that brands and products show up in AI-powered search experiences. Customers might ask an LLM a question like, “What’s a good laptop for photo editing?” or “What’s the best budget-friendly hotel in Tokyo?” and get a personalized, context-rich answer. This doesn’t come down to outspending competitors on keywords. It's about understanding how your brand shows up beyond your website and how customers are talking about you on community and third-party platforms. Content is still a priority but now it’s not just the content you create — it’s every conversation, every mention, and every moment that influences how your brand is experienced.

New horizons in brand discovery.

With LLMs taking off in popularity, discovery habits are diversifying. Platforms like TikTok are becoming the go-to search engines for Gen Z, with short-form videos impacting brand perceptions and purchase decisions. ChatGPT and Claude are also changing how people ask questions and weigh options. Customers want one seamless way to connect with their favorite brands, whether that’s through a chatbot, voice assistant, or messaging app. They want to ask questions, shop, get support, and receive recommendations without switching between channels.

In a new world driven by conversation, brands must meet customers inside the tools they already turn to for answers, not just after they land on a website. As these interfaces evolve from being “just tools” to everyday consumer companions, they'll play a crucial role in deciding which brands feel relevant, trustworthy, and worth someone’s time.

It’s important to also understand how these shifts manifest differently across markets. Browsing habits, cultural norms, and trust in AI vary by region. In Southeast Asia, social commerce leads discovery, while in parts of Europe, stricter privacy expectations determine how people engage. For CMOs, adapting to local realities is essential.

The race to capture value in conversational experiences.

Providers are wasting no time monetizing interactions on conversational interfaces. OpenAI is already taking transaction cuts from commerce within ChatGPT, a sign that value capture is moving faster than traditional cycles. That's one of the clearest indicators that brands need to be active participants in shaping these experiences, not just reacting to them.

This shift has pushed organizations to tear down the walls between teams. Marketing, customer communications, sales, commerce, and customer service can’t live in their own bubbles anymore. From conversations I've had with other CMOs, it’s clear that making LLM-powered conversations feel seamless and consistent really comes down to getting everyone aligned.

Striking a balance between SEO and AI-driven recommendations.

CMOs now must win in two arenas: traditional search results and AI-driven recommendations. Some brands are tackling this by creating content that answers real customer questions, refining their keyword strategies, and making sure they show signals of expertise, authority, and trust. At Adobe, we've seen that the most effective strategies blend machine-friendly structure with a strong human voice, scaling personalized content that fuels loyalty. The brands pulling ahead are building content structures that AI can process and that customers can trust.

To get the most out of AI-driven discoveries, CMOs should focus on making content AI-ready. It starts with giving your CMS, DAM, commerce, and personalization systems clean inputs — clearly tagged images, detailed product info, and clear trust signals like return policies and delivery timelines. Looking ahead, marketing teams will also need to consider content that works in agent-to-agent exchanges while still leaving room for real human connection.

The moment for AI-powered marketing is now.

AI-powered search and conversational interfaces are moving fast. IDC projects their impact will be felt across industries within the next 12–18 months. Updating content strategies, breaking down silos, and weaving GEO into the mix can create a competitive edge.

This is where Adobe is ready to help. We’re equipping marketers for what’s next with solutions designed for an AI-driven world, such as Adobe LLM Optimizer. LLM Optimizer trains models on your brand’s content and data, so when customers search or chat, they get accurate, on-brand answers, personalized in real time. By championing purposeful innovation, open ecosystems, and ethical deployment, we’re building a future where marketing is more efficient, creative, and impactful than ever.

For a deeper look at how AI is transforming customer expectations, explore our soon-to-be released report, The State of CX in an AI-driven World. It’s a companion to the strategies outlined here, connecting today’s shifts in customer search and discovery with the new era of AI-enhanced marketing.

Be sure to check out the next blog in this series, where I discuss how to set your organization up for success with agentic AI, from initial planning to long-term execution.

Rachel Thornton is Adobe’s chief marketing officer for the enterprise business, helping organizations deliver exceptional customer experiences at the intersection of marketing, creativity, and AI. She leads strategies and activations that position Adobe as the leading marketing and AI platform, while energizing and empowering CMOs and experience makers worldwide.

With more than 25 years in B2B technology marketing, Rachel has held leadership roles at Amazon/AWS, Salesforce, Cisco, and Microsoft. She has built and scaled enterprise marketing, driven customer acquisition and revenue growth, and led go-to-market strategies across field marketing, advertising, sports marketing, and events.

https://business.adobe.com/fragments/resources/cards/thank-you-collections/thought-leadership