Insights
AI Search
Expert analysis on AI search, generative engine optimization, and the strategies reshaping digital marketing.
Getty Images + OpenAI: Why Licensed Visuals Are Becoming the New AI Search Moat
AI search just got a lot more “media-native.” Getty Images announced a multi-year display agreement with OpenAI that brings Getty’s licensed visual libraries into ChatGPT’s search and discovery experiences. On the surface, this looks like a straightforward content partnership. Strategically, it’s a signal that the next phase of AI search will be defined by rights-cleared, […]
ChatGPT Adds Licensed Getty Images: Why AI Answers Are Becoming Licensed Distribution Channels
OpenAI announced yesterday that ChatGPT will begin surfacing licensed Getty Images photos directly inside its responses and ChatGPT Search results under a multi-year agreement with the world’s largest editorial photo agency. Getty already has a similar deal with Perplexity. According to The Verge’s June 22, 2026 reporting, this is the first major licensed image partnership […]
Google Confirms Robots Meta Tags Control AI Overviews and AI Mode: What Marketers Must Do Now
In the past week, more marketing teams have asked the same question: How do we control what our content contributes to AI-generated answers? Google quietly but explicitly answered it in its Search Central documentation: robots meta tags and related directives apply not only to classic Search results, but also to AI Overviews and AI Mode. […]
OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Ads to Japan: What It Means for AI Search Marketing in 2026
OpenAI has started a trial of advertisements inside ChatGPT for users in Japan — a meaningful signal that AI assistants are becoming a paid distribution channel, not just a research tool. For marketers, this is bigger than “yet another ad network.” It’s the first time a conversational interface with strong user trust is scaling toward […]
Google AI Mode Hits 1 Billion Users with Queries Doubling Every Quarter: The GEO Numbers That Actually Matter
Google just disclosed first-party usage data for AI Mode that reframes the AI search opportunity in concrete numbers. AI Mode has now crossed 1 billion monthly active users globally, with queries more than doubling every quarter since launch. AI Mode searches average 3x longer than traditional Google searches, follow-up queries are up 40% month-over-month in […]
Google AI Mode Adds ‘Information Agents’: What Marketers Need to Know About Always-On AI Search
Google is starting to roll out information agents inside AI Mode—a new “always-on” capability that can monitor the web and deliver synthesized updates when something changes. For marketing leaders, this is a meaningful shift: AI search is moving from a one-time answer box to a persistent, agent-driven layer that can watch topics, brands, competitors, and […]
Google AI Mode Information Agents: What Proactive Search Means for SEO, GEO, and Marketing Strategy
What Google just shipped (and how it works) Google is beginning to roll out “information agents” inside Search’s AI Mode—the first category of what it calls “Search agents.” According to Google’s description, these agents “work in the background 24/7” and “intelligently reason across information to find exactly what you need at exactly the right moment.” […]
Google Officially Validates GEO/AEO (and Launches AI Visibility Reporting): What Marketers Should Do Next
Google just made GEO “real” — and gave you a scoreboard In the last few days, Google did something the SEO and content world has been waiting for: it turned “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)” and “Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)” from a buzzword into an officially acknowledged service category — and paired it with a measurable […]
Google AI Mode Interactive Visuals Are Going Free: What It Means for AI Search, GEO, and Brand Visibility
Google is quietly making its most persuasive AI Search feature more accessible: interactive, explorable visuals generated inside AI Mode are moving from a paid perk to a broader, free rollout this summer. In Google’s AI Mode, users can ask a question and receive not only a text answer, but a clickable diagram or visual that […]
GA4’s New AI Assistant Channel + ChatGPT Ads Expansion: How to Measure (and Win) AI Discovery Traffic
Two changes landed almost back-to-back that signal how quickly “AI discovery” is becoming a first-class acquisition channel: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) added a dedicated AI Assistant channel to help you measure visits coming from chatbots, and OpenAI expanded ChatGPT ads internationally while testing a new multi-advertiser ad format. Together, they create both an opportunity (new […]