Issue AI answers absorb the high-intent moment, cutting brands out of the consideration set

Summary

McKinsey argues that AI-generated answers are taking over one of the most valuable moments in the consumer journey. Search has historically been a high-intent stage, when consumers actively compare brands and options. As AI results answer those questions directly, consumers click through less often to brand websites, retailers, and publishers, which reduces what brands can achieve with traditional organic and paid search. Brands may therefore get fewer chances to enter the consideration set at the moment purchase intent is expressed. The report suggests they will need to influence perceptions earlier in the journey and help shape the first- and third-party content that large language models draw on.