Title: Is Your Brand More Trusted Than ChatGPT?
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the question of brand credibility and authority becomes increasingly important. With the rise of generative AI engines like ChatGPT, brands face the challenge of establishing themselves as trustworthy sources amidst the growing influence of these language models.
Despite ChatGPT’s impressive user count of 100 million just two months after its launch, it has not yet made a significant impact on the billions of daily searches. However, it is reasonable to anticipate that as AI technologies improve, they will capture a significant portion of the search market share.
With multi-billion-dollar investments pouring into generative AI engines from tech giants like Microsoft and Google, it’s evident that established search engine companies are aware of the potential risk to their businesses. They are urgently dedicating substantial resources to AI development to stay ahead of the game.
Considering the inevitable advancements in generative AI and the increasing prevalence of zero-click engagements, brands must contemplate how to maintain their visibility, authority, and protect their content investments.
To safeguard themselves from the adverse effects of generative AI, brands have two major levers they can pull. Firstly, legal battles are likely to arise in the future as copyright holders seek clarification on their rights in this new age, particularly regarding fair use. Content and social media platforms may attempt to redefine the copyright landscape, modifying their user agreements to gain more control over shared content.
This divide is already evident among companies. For instance, Getty Images is suing Stable Diffusion over copyright infringements in training its AI, while Shutterstock has chosen to partner with OpenAI, asserting its right to sell contributors’ content as AI training material. Although Shutterstock claims it doesn’t need to compensate contributors directly, it has established a contributors fund to support those whose works are predominantly used by AI engines. Contributors also have the option to opt out of having their content utilized for AI training purposes.
Considering that Google was permitted to scan and distribute copyrighted books without compensating authors, it is reasonable to expect generative AI will enjoy similar rights without agreements or compensation to copyright holders. Therefore, content providers should not rely on legal protection.
In addition to these considerations, brands should take proactive measures to protect their interests. It is crucial for them to implement a noindex equivalent, requesting companies refrain from training their large language models (LLMs) and other AI tools using their webpage content.
While shielding content from external generative AI engines is a defensive strategy, brands can also employ generative AI on their own websites to help visitors find the information they need, enhancing their site search functionality. This augmentation would be welcomed by most brands.
While shielding content constitutes a defensive approach, building first-party audiences is the offensive play. Brands should focus on developing subscription-based channels such as email and push notifications. Emphasize the exclusive content shared through email signups and highlight the personalization offered.
Brands have a unique opportunity to transform their emails into personalized homepages for subscribers while converting their subscribers’ inboxes into personalized search engines.
Building first-party audiences is already essential due to the phasing out of third-party cookies and the urgent need for customer data. Email marketing and loyalty programs, along with SMS, excel in collecting zero-party data through preference centers and progressive profiling and gathering first-party data through channel engagement.
Another reason to prioritize channels owned by brands is the growing risk associated with social media platforms. Facebook’s decline, Twitter’s downsizing, and TikTok’s bans in various countries highlight the pitfalls of operating solely on rented social media platforms. Brands must focus on channels they have more control over, including websites, loyalty programs, SMS, and, of course, email.
Therefore, the disruption of search engine optimization by generative AI serves as a compelling reason for brands to invest more in email programs or acquire them. Email marketing continues to evolve and remain relevant to brands.
In conclusion, the battle for brand credibility and authority in the age of generative AI intensifies. Brands must strategically protect their content and build first-party audiences through avenues like email marketing. By doing so, they can maintain visibility, authority, and adapt to this ever-changing landscape.
