AI Search Loves Brands That Humans Talk About
Published: 11 June 2026
Well-structured information? That’s definitely essential for AI visibility, but in partnership with Melbourne content and influencer agency, Sticki, we tackle why influencer marketing, UGC and social proof have become just as vital.
“How do we get Google to notice us?” has rapidly become “How do we get AI to talk about us?” – and it’s a shift even influencer and content agencies (like Sticki) have noticed.
As consumers increasingly turn to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other AI-powered search experiences for recommendations, research and purchase decisions, brands are entering a new era of discoverability. One that calls for generative engine optimisation beyond just SEO.
But here's the interesting part.
AI search doesn't just learn from websites. It’s scouring from sources across the web, and learning from conversations.
The brands most likely to be surfaced, referenced and recommended aren't necessarily the ones publishing the most content. They're often the ones generating the most discussion.
That's why influencer marketing, UGC and community-driven content are becoming increasingly important – not just for social media performance, but for long-term visibility across the web.
AI Search Is Built on Human Conversation
Traditional SEO has historically focused on signals like keywords, backlinks, site structure and content quality, ultimately rewarded by rankings on SERPs.
Those factors still matter, but Large Language Models (LLMs) consume information differently.
In the era of AI, LLMs don't just index webpages. They learn from enormous amounts of publicly available information across the internet, including:
- Forums and community discussions
- Reddit threads
- Product reviews
- News articles
- Social media content
- Creator content
- Blog articles
- Public Q&As
- User-generated content
In other words, AI systems are constantly absorbing evidence of what people are saying, discussing and recommending. It’s one of the reasons Reddit (essentially the closest thing to an online court of public opinion) has become such a powerful source of information for search engines and AI tools.
People trust real experiences – and AI systems increasingly recognise that humans do too.
When someone asks ChatGPT for the best skincare brand, running shoes, CRM platform or meal delivery service, the answer is often informed by patterns of discussion happening across the internet, not just what's written on a brand's website.
The more people talk about your brand, the more signals exist for AI systems to understand who you are, what you do and whether people trust you.
Visibility is Shifting From Owned Media to Earned Conversation
For years, marketers invested heavily in owned content.
Meaning websites, blogs, landing pages, resource hubs… The works.
These assets remain important, but they've become just one part of the story. The reality is that many purchase journeys now begin somewhere entirely different.
- A creator recommendation.
- A TikTok review.
- A Reddit thread.
- An Instagram comment section.
- A YouTube comparison video.
By the time a consumer lands on your website, they've often already formed an opinion based on what other people have said, and AI search is simply accelerating this shift.
How often have you sat on the tram and seen someone on their phones, on ChatGPT, getting AI’s take on something like a what to buy, where to go, who to call, or how to do something?
Rather than evaluating a single webpage, AI tools can synthesise information from multiple sources to generate recommendations and responses.
This means brand visibility is becoming increasingly tied to conversation visibility.
If nobody is talking about your brand, AI has fewer signals to work with. But if hundreds of people are talking about your brand across creators, reviews, social content and communities, AI has a much richer understanding of who you are.
Why Influencer Marketing Matters More Than Ever
Influencer marketing has historically been viewed as a channel for entertainment, awareness, engagement and conversions. Still valid, but people hardly realise it's becoming something bigger.
It's a mechanism for creating digital footprints.
Every creator collab generates content, discussion, comments, shares, reactions and references. Each content piece contributes to a broader ecosystem of information about your brand.
A single influencer campaign can result in:
- Creator reviews
- Product demonstrations
- Audience comments
- Community discussion
- User-generated responses
- Search activity
- Additional content created by customers
And collectively, these become signals that help shape public perception – which is increasingly what AI systems are learning from.
At Sticki, we often see the strongest influencer campaigns create a ripple effect far beyond the original post. The content sparks discussion, the discussion sparks searches. Searches lead to discovery, and the discovery then creates even more conversation.
It's a flywheel effect that extends well beyond social media metrics.
UGC Creates the Kind of Content AI Understands
On to user-generated content (UGC) which is becoming increasingly valuable, because of how such videos are often spoken and produced in the way real people behave.
Consumers don't describe products the same way brands do.
Brands talk about features, whereas people talk about experiences.
That's exactly why UGC often performs so well. It answers the questions consumers are actually asking (e.g. Did it work? Was it worth the money? Would you buy it again? How does it compare to competitors? How long does it last?) and really gets into the emotional heart of it all.
These are the same kinds of questions people increasingly ask AI search tools.
Authentic user-generated content (UGC) naturally contains the language, context and sentiment that help AI systems better understand products and brands. The result is a richer digital presence built on genuine customer experiences, with loads of social proof beyond marketing claims alone.
Events Create Conversations at Scale
One of the most overlooked ways to generate online discussion is through real-world experiences – probably why our Events & Activations service is getting more and more in demand by the week.
Brand events, launches, activations and creator experiences don't just create moments.
They create content ecosystems.
A single event can generate:
- Creator content
- Social media coverage
- Behind-the-scenes footage
- Reviews and reactions
- Media mentions
- Community discussion
- Follow-up UGC
Every attendee becomes a potential storyteller, and every piece of content becomes another data point contributing to your brand's digital footprint.
In a world where AI increasingly relies on public conversation as a source of understanding, creating experiences worth talking about becomes a strategic advantage.
The Future of SEO Is Bigger Than SEO
This absolutely doesn't mean traditional SEO is disappearing.
Technical SEO, content strategy and organic search optimisation remain critical foundations for discoverability. But the brands winning attention today aren't treating channels in isolation.
They're building interconnected ecosystems – SEO drives discoverability, influencer marketing drives conversation, UGC drives trust, events drive cultural relevance, and social content drives engagement. All of this living together in the digital realm?
Builds a mosaic of activities that create the kind of digital presence which both humans and algorithms can understand.
The most visible brands of the future won't simply be the ones with the most optimised websites. They'll be the ones generating the most meaningful conversations.
AI search is changing how consumers discover brands, but at its core, the principle remains surprisingly human.
People trust people.
Algorithms are increasingly learning to do the same.
If your brand wants to remain visible in an AI-powered future, the goal isn't simply to publish more content – it's to create more reasons for people to talk about you, because AI is always listening…
About Sticki
Sticki is an end-to-end content and creator marketing agency based in Melbourne, specialising in Influencer Marketing, UGC, Photography, Events, and more. Backed by both data and creativity, Sticki’s performance-driven content strategies connect global and local brands with creators who not only fit bespoke target audiences – but can use their social presence to speak to them too.
James Richardson
Co-Founder
James Richardson is one of the co-founders of Optimising, that he started in 2008. He's spent nearly two decades helping Australian brands get found online, from technical SEO and platform migrations through to AI search.
Outside work, he's usually on the basketball court or golf course or being comprehensively outsmarted by his three daughters.
