The rise of generative AI promises to be the largest and fastest technological shift yet. Its possibilities are reaching all parts of society.
One area that is already changing is buyer behaviour, which is correspondingly rewriting businesses’ approach to marketing and sales.
For businesses, particularly SMEs, this presents significant risks and exciting opportunities. The question is: How do you adapt and thrive?
You may have noticed that your Google search results often now contain an AI summary that answers your search query rather than only returning links. You may have even switched from using Google search to a generative AI app.
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity are changing how people search, learn, and make purchasing decisions. Instead of scrolling through pages of links, users now receive direct, conversational answers. This shift has significant implications for traditional SEO and paid search strategies. Fewer clicks mean fewer chances for brands to be discovered through conventional search.
At the same time, AI is making it easier than ever to produce content at scale. Blogs, videos, social posts, and even product descriptions can be generated quickly and cheaply. While this increases output, it also creates a more cluttered, competitive and uninspiring environment.
Generative AI is also increasing businesses' ability to find previously hidden insights from vast quantities of structured and unstructured data. There’s gold in those hills.
Buyers today are more informed, autonomous, and demanding. This is a long-term trend. Now, with AI-generated summaries and insights at their fingertips, they’re entering the sales funnel with an even clearer sense of what they want and who they trust. Decision cycles are shortening, and expectations for relevance, personalisation, and transparency are rising.
This means businesses must rethink how they attract, engage, and convert customers. Being visible is no longer enough. You must be credible, authoritative, and aligned with buyer intent.
Risks
Declining paid search and SEO Performance: As AI answers replace link-based search results, traditional search strategies are being impacted.
Content Saturation: The relative ease of content creation can lead to generic, low-quality output that fails to differentiate. Many companies are mistakenly trading off authenticity and trust for quantity.
Data Dependency: AI-driven insights rely heavily on the quality and completeness of system data. Poor data leads to poor decisions.
Opportunities
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO): Instead of optimising for search engines, businesses must now optimise for generative AI engines. This means optimising content to be referenced in AI-generated answers.
E-E-A-T Framework: Google’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness model is now more relevant than ever. Content that demonstrates real-world experience and credibility is more likely to be surfaced by AI.
AI-Driven Insights: Businesses can use AI to uncover hidden patterns, segment audiences more precisely, and predict buyer intent more accurately.
Revitalised Brand Presence: With the potential for fewer website clicks from search, display ads, and PR are becoming increasingly important for maintaining visibility and trust.
How Companies Are Responding
Forward-thinking companies are already adapting. They’re shifting from keyword-stuffed SEO to topic-driven, human-friendly content. They’re investing in AI tools to analyse customer behaviour, identify high-conversion segments, and personalise outreach. They’re also rebalancing their marketing mix by emphasising brand awareness, thought leadership, and trust-building.
But many businesses are still playing catch-up. The pace of change is fast, and the final answers are not yet known. What’s clear is that agility, insight, and strategic alignment are key.
The vast majority of news is so alarmist that it would be easy to think you missed the bus. However, our experience tells us that technological innovation always builds on history by adding new dimensions. For example, Poignand Consulting’s clients are not yet seeing a dip in SEO performance, outperforming the general trend. This is because we’ve been applying best practice SEO for years, which still represents the bulk of best practice guidance for optimising content for generative engine search. Furthermore, productivity and insights gained from an intelligent adoption of AI are liberating.
None of this diminishes the changes that have happened or will occur, but it also reminds us that opportunities abound if we are open to change.
How Poignand Consulting Can Help
At Poignand Consulting, we help businesses navigate this transformation with clarity and confidence. Our approach is grounded in strategic thinking, data-driven insights, and a deep understanding of buyer behaviour.
Here’s how we support our clients:
1. Strategic Content with Generative AI Content Alignment
We help businesses develop content strategies that align with Generative Engine Optimisation. Using the E-E-A-T framework, we ensure your content is discoverable, credible, and compelling.
2. Data and Insight Enablement
We audit and enhance your data systems to ensure AI tools can deliver meaningful insights. From segmentation to predictive analytics, we help you unlock the full potential of your customer data.
3. Brand and Trust Building
We craft authentic content and PR strategies that build authority and trust. Whether it’s thought leadership, case studies, or strategic partnerships, we position your brand as a leader in your space.
4. Sales Enablement and Buyer Intent
We align your sales teams with AI-driven targeting strategies. By focusing on buyer intent and high-conversion segments, we help you focus on the right leads and close more deals more efficiently.
Generative AI is not merely a trend; it’s an enduring transformation. Businesses that embrace it will gain a competitive edge in understanding, engaging, and converting their customers. Those who resist, risk falling behind in a rapidly evolving landscape.
At Poignand Consulting, we’re here to help you adapt, innovate, and prosper. The future of marketing and sales is being written now.
Let’s talk about how to make sure your business is part of the story.
About Poignand Consulting
Poignand Consulting is a strategic marketing and sales enablement consultancy that exists to unlock customer value for your business. We do this by helping enrich the customer experience at every point of contact – from the first seed of awareness to enquiry, purchase, and the post-sale relationship.
It pays to step back and assess this from time to time. Help is available. If you would like to review your current marketing effectiveness, we would happily arrange an obligation-free chat.
About the author
Stuart Poignand is the Director of Poignand Consulting and has 20+ years of experience in strategic marketing and sales enablement for SMEs and enterprise businesses.