We've been living in a keyword world for two decades. That's over. Search is shifting to prompts and conversations, and advertisers need a new playbook.

Google's AI Mode makes this clear. Early testers are typing queries two to three times longer than traditional searches. Add multimodal on top with 20 billion Google Lens searches a month, people dropping screenshots, drawings, even videos, and the search bar doesn't look like it used to.

Users don't want lists. They want guided answers. They're asking AI to recommend, compare, and decide with them. That's the real change.

Why AI Search Is Disrupting Google’s Business Model

The shift threatens Google's revenue model, but it hasn't killed Google. Users are still there; they are just not searching like before. And competitors are growing:

• 1. ChatGPT has 700M weekly active users.
• 2. Perplexity jumped from 10M to 22M monthly users in a year.
• 3. Perplexity's valuation climbed from $500M to $18B.

Search has fragmented. Intent can start anywhere, and campaigns have to meet it there.

Google's answer has been more automated.

• 1. 90+ Performance Max upgrades in the past year added 10%+ more conversions and value.
• 2. AI Max for Search reports a 27% lift in conversions over phrase and exact match.

Microsoft is telling the same story.

• 1. $13B in AI-related ad revenue last quarter.
• 2. Copilot-powered ads delivered 2.3x more conversions than standard formats.
• 3. Users exposed to Copilot ads were 53% more likely to convert within 30 minutes.

Stop waiting for typed queries.

Prompts are long. They're contextual. They're messy. If you're waiting for a clean keyword, you're already behind. Winning advertisers aren't reacting; they're feeding AI the right signals so it chooses them.

Look at Google's AI-first products. Performance Max runs without keywords, relying on feeds, creative, and audience data. AI Max pushes even further, mixing Dynamic Search Ads, broad match, and auto assets so ads show regardless of how users phrase the prompt.

The old tricks, which were scanning search term reports and adding negative keywords, won't scale. AI chooses based on context, memory, and signals you can't see. That's why the work shifts to what you give the AI.

Where to focus now

Signals over keywords

• Push CRM data into your campaigns. High-intent lists give AI the right starting point.
• Use first-party data to influence bidding with conversion value adjustments.
• Clean and enrich your product feed. Every attribute is a signal.
• Update site data with tables, schema, and structured elements AI can parse.

Creative as targeting

• Build modular assets. Multiple headlines, descriptions, and images let AI assemble what fits each prompt.
• Match assets to stages of the funnel so you show up early in decision-making, not only at the close.

Measurement beyond clicks

• Use AI Max and Performance Max's new metrics. Feed impression share and surfaced product reports show whether AI is choosing you.
• Track how often your products appear in recommendations, not just clicks or impressions..
• Measure task completion. Did the user get what they wanted with your brand's help? That's what AI optimises for.

The real mindset shift

This isn't about bidding on queries anymore. It's about supplying AI with the raw ingredients it needs to recommend you when the decision happens.

Keywords aren't gone, but they're shrinking fast. The thriving brands will stop chasing what users type and start shaping what AI serves.

If you win that recommendation, you don't just get found. You get chosen.

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About the Author: Terrence Willis is a Digital Marketing Professional with 11+ years of experience helping brands grow through SEO, paid media, content marketing, and automation. He specialises in building full-funnel strategies that turn clicks into customers. When not optimising campaigns, he enjoys exploring creative design and photography.