The Rise of Answer Engines: A New Era for Publishers and Advertisers
The digital landscape is shifting. Traditional search is evolving into what many are calling the “answer engine” era, powered by artificial intelligence. This isn’t simply about finding links; it’s about receiving direct answers to queries, a change that’s forcing publishers and advertisers to rethink their strategies. As Mark Stenberg of ADWEEK notes, this evolution is bringing back familiar digital marketing tactics, adapted for a chatbot-driven world.
Publishers Embrace Branded AI
Faced with declining referral traffic from search and social platforms, publishers are experimenting with new approaches. A growing number, including The Information, Gannett, and The Independent, are launching on-site answer engines. These tools replicate the chatbot interface of platforms like ChatGPT but exclusively surface content from their own journalism. This move is a direct response to the disruptive effects of artificial intelligence and a bid to retain control over their content and audience.
Retargeting in the Age of AI
For advertisers, the emergence of answer engines initially presented a challenge: how to reach users within these closed ecosystems. Now, solutions are emerging. Evertune, in partnership with The Trade Desk and Index Exchange, has launched a retargeting product that allows marketers to serve ads on websites visited by users after they’ve exited an answer engine session. This taps into roughly 12% of answer engine users who click through to webpages, offering a high-intent audience.
The Value of Intent and Shaping the Narrative
These users, having actively sought information within an answer engine, exhibit a high level of intent, making them valuable to marketers. Beyond simply reaching them, advertisers can leverage this opportunity to reinforce positive messaging, address negative perceptions, or introduce their brand to those who weren’t initially included in the chatbot’s response. Here’s particularly relevant as influencing a brand’s appearance in answer engine results – a function of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) – remains a key challenge.
Amazon and Microsoft Enter the Fray
The landscape is further evolving with Amazon and Microsoft exploring content marketplaces. This signals a potential shift towards publishers being compensated for the use of their content by large language models (LLMs). This could lead to new revenue streams and a more competitive market for content licensing.
Newpress: A Creator-Led Model
The changing media landscape is too fostering new business models. Newpress, a collective of YouTube news creators, exemplifies this trend. Founded by Iz Harris and Johnny Harris, Newpress focuses on creator-led visual journalism, offering a platform for its contributors to connect with audiences and build communities. Their approach emphasizes quality content and direct engagement, bypassing traditional media gatekeepers.
The Future of Advertising: Incremental Gains, Familiar Infrastructure
While the technology behind answer engines is cutting-edge, the advertising infrastructure emerging around them is surprisingly familiar. As Stenberg points out, this is both a comfort and a missed opportunity. The industry is cautiously optimistic, recognizing that the advertising ecosystem is adapting, albeit incrementally, to this new reality.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are answer engines? Answer engines, like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, provide direct answers to user queries rather than simply listing links to relevant websites.
- How are publishers responding to answer engines? Publishers are launching their own on-site answer engines to control their content and audience.
- What is GEO? Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the SEO equivalent for answer engines, focusing on influencing how companies appear in chatbot results.
- Is retargeting possible with answer engines? Yes, Evertune has launched a retargeting product that allows advertisers to reach users after they abandon an answer engine session.
Did you know? The Food52 saga, culminating in its sale in a bankruptcy auction, highlights the challenges faced by content-commerce businesses in the current economic climate.
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