Journal of Advertising Research

Insights on the future of search-related advertising and artificial intelligence

The rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the way consumers search, retrieve, and interact with product information, offerings, and brands. The traditional search landscape, once dominated by Google’s algorithmic filtering and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, is being transformed by AI-generated summaries and zero-click searches. This paradigm shift is disrupting conventional SEO approaches and revenue models, reshaping how consumers encounter/process information and make choices while forcing the industry to adapt and reinvent.

As AI continues to influence search results and decision-making, several key trends are emerging. First, the nature of search is changing, with AI increasingly mediating our interactions and altering the way we engage with search results. Is search still a pull activity, where consumers initiate queries and receive advertising responses aligned with their intent, or are we witnessing a shift towards AI-led search experiences that unfold without explicit human initiation? Second, we are delegating search-related tasks to AI, potentially leading to a future where AI autonomously performs search functions, bypassing traditional some stages of the consumer journey, including information processing. Third, our current interactions with AI are largely functional, focusing on utilitarian offerings and cognitive evaluations. However, as AI evolves, we may see a shift towards more experiential, hedonic, and social evaluations, where AI assists us in discovering new goods and services that cater to our emotional, social, and moral needs.

The implications for advertising are profound. As AI-generated content and zero-click searches become more prevalent, advertisers must adapt their strategies to reach consumers in a landscape where traditional search results are no longer the primary touchpoint. This may involve shifting focus from keyword-based advertising to more contextual, conversational, and experiential approaches, such as sponsored content, influencer partnerships, and immersive brand experiences. Further, the rise of AI-driven search raises important questions about the role of advertising in shaping consumer decision-making, the potential for bias in AI-generated recommendations, and the need for greater transparency and accountability in advertising practices.

As we navigate this uncharted territory, we invite scholars and practitioners to submit original research papers that explore the future of search-related advertising and AI. We welcome submissions that investigate the following topics, among others:

• How advertisers can effectively leverage AI-generated content and zero-click searches to reach their target audiences
• The impact of AI-generated content on search results and consumer decision-making
• The evolution of SEO strategies in response to AI-driven search algorithms
• The role of AI in shaping consumer journeys and experiential marketing
• How AI has shifted and/or will shift psychological mechanisms in search, including but not limited to empowerment, attention, memory, processing styles, and cognitive bias
• How social, cultural, and other contextual differences might lead different consumer segments or markets to react to and utilize AI differently in search
• The role of AI in relation to marketer-controlled vs. nonmarketer-controlled sources of information (e.g., ads or website content vs. customer reviews or social media) and consumers’ relative reliance on each
• The effects of AI on speed, locus of control, and effort in consumer search
• The potential for AI-driven advertising to enhance or undermine consumer trust and brand loyalty
• The impact of AI on ad pricing and revenue models, including the potential for more nuanced and contextual pricing strategies
• The role of AI in facilitating more personalized and relevant advertising search experiences, and the potential trade-offs with consumer privacy
• The need for new metrics and benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of AI-driven advertising campaigns, and the potential for AI to provide more granular and actionable insights into consumer behavior and preferences
• The potential for AI to create more intimate and human-like interactions with consumers
• The ethical implications of AI-driven search and advertising practices
• The future of search interfaces, including voice-activated, image-based, and multimodal search
• The interplay between AI-generated search experiences and consumer autonomy
• The implications of AI-driven search ecosystems for market competition and brand visibility
• The role of AI transparency and explainability in consumer trust and regulatory compliance
• The sustainability and environmental impact of AI-driven search and advertising ecosystems
• Cross-platform integration and continuity in AI-mediated consumer journeys
• How the reduced visibility of paid versus organic influence in conversational AI affects consumer understanding, disclosure, and trust in recommendations
• How the growing tendency to treat AI systems as social or companion-like partners might reshape the value of impressions, expectations of authenticity, and marketplace pricing for AI-mediated advertising interactions

Building upon recent contributions that focus on GenAI search and advertising, this special section aims to inspire the future of advertising applications within the consumer search phase. We welcome submissions that make substantive theoretical and practical contributions in the broader domain of advertising research, irrespective of methods. This includes either conceptual or empirical work. Empirical work (experiments, surveys, modeling, qualitative, etc.) should be appropriately executed, given best practices in the discipline.