Idil Cakim & Rachel Kessler
Idil Cakim (L) & Rachel Kessler

The search engine is no longer a gateway. It’s a filter, a curator, a decision-maker. And increasingly, it’s not even human.

In the past year alone, 71% of U.S. adults have used an AI tool for personal reasons—whether through Gemini, chatbots, or generative video and audio apps. That number is poised to grow, with 7 in 10 planning to use AI in the next 12 months¹. This isn’t a trend—it’s a behavioral shift. One that redefines how information is found, trusted, and acted upon.

Google’s AI Overviews and Gemini are accelerating this shift. Today, 59% of Google searches end in zero clicks². Users aren’t browsing—they’re receiving. AI-generated summaries are replacing traditional search results, collapsing the funnel and compressing the decision cycle. And once users try AI search, they rarely go back: 96% stick with it, and 81% of Gen Z and Millennials now prefer AI tools over human assistance for search and discovery².

This is where thought leadership becomes indispensable.

In a zero-click world, visibility is no longer about ranking. It’s about resonance. AI engines prioritize clarity, authority and relevance. They surface content that answers, not just content that exists. That means brands and creators must shift from broadcasting with wide strokes to focusing and meaning-making.

The challenge is that many users don’t trust what they find on AI platforms. When brands invest in thought leadership and earned media, they anchor stakeholder confidence in reliable, attributable sources. In a landscape shaped by probabilistic outputs, trust is the new precision – and thought leadership is the signal that cuts through algorithmic noise. It’s the strategic layer that AI engines elevate when users ask nuanced, high-stakes questions. It’s the trust currency that decision-makers rely on.

This is where earned media becomes a trust multiplier. National outlets, trade publications and expert quotes aren’t just exposure – they’re validation loops that AI engines index and stakeholders internalize. Featuring CEOs at community and industry events, issuing AI-optimized press releases, and activating Substacks, social media, and campaign assets – all of it becomes part of a trust architecture, honed and sharpened for this moment in time.

Keep in mind that AI search engines summarize and synthesize. They rebuild brand narratives from historical data, activist posts, reviews and fragmented digital signals3. If your brand’s owned content isn’t structured, clear and deep, it won’t show up. Worse, it may be misrepresented.

BrandRank.AI calls the way AI systems harness brand-related information, the “Prompted Path to Purchase™,” where AI engines shape consumer perception at every stage – from awareness to loyalty3. Their research shows that foundational brand content (trust, performance, service) drives up to 75% of influence in AI search results3. That means your website, FAQs, and product pages aren’t just assets, they’re algorithmic fuel.

Thought leadership content is a critical source of influence for business audiences as well. The latest B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report from Edelman and LinkedIn, drawing insights from 2,000 global professionals, underscores the importance of thought leadership in influencing both targeted and hidden buyers in organizations. When these executives review brands or organizations, they find thought leadership content to be a key source of information for their decisions alongside other forms of marketing.4

In a world of ephemeral clicks, thought leadership is how brands earn placement in AI-generated answers, how executives shape perception at scale and how publishers build durable trust.

The search bar is evolving. So must the voices that shape what it returns.

Endnotes

¹ Iris Flex, The AI Gap Study, n=1,003, P18+, 2025
² All Things AI, AI Search Engines Report, Break The Web, June 2025
3 Blackshaw, Pete. BrandRank.AI “Brand Vulnerability in the Age of AI,” Webinar Deck, July 2025
4 LinkedIn and Edelman, 2025 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report

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Idil Cakim is Founder and CEO of Iris Flex. Iris Flex is a research firm that specializes in thought leadership and works with companies to create strategic content and drive measurable outcomes.

Rachel Kessler is Founder and CEO of Kessler Communications. Kessler Communications specializes in earned media, storytelling and integrative marketing for healthcare clients.