Introducing Brand Profiling: see what AI actually says about your brand

AI Answer Engines Challenge Brands

An Adweek article (published May 1, 2026) summarizes a fireside conversation at ADWEEK House Possible co-hosted with Brandwatch in which ADWEEK Editor in Chief Ryan Joe and Brandwatch VP Eric deLima Rubb discussed how AI answer engines (e.g., ChatGPT) are reshaping search and the customer journey. Rubb cited an approximate 26% year‑on‑year growth in search activity and warned that AI models are being trained on social evaluation behavior from platforms like Reddit and forums. He advised marketers to treat AI as a stakeholder — influencing what AI cites by contributing authentic content on social platforms, leveraging visually rich sites like Pinterest (which he called under-indexed today), and monitoring post‑content conversations such as YouTube comment threads. The piece notes current measurement limitations for AI citation behavior and recommends an omnichannel approach while brands experiment to influence AI-driven discovery. The article was created in partnership with Brandwatch.