Since the early days of digital marketing, the challenge of brand discoverability has evolved through search engine optimisation, app store optimisation, marketplace rankings, social media algorithms and retail media networks. Now, AI assistants and recommendation engines are prompting marketers to consider what becomes of conventional strategies when consumers discover products through AI-generated recommendations rather than traditional search results. Google is expanding AI-generated responses via AI Overviews and AI Mode, and introducing the Universal Commerce Protocol for agentic commerce, while Amazon, OpenAI, Perplexity and others are testing AI-led shopping experiences. Abhay Singhal, Co-Founder of InMobi and CEO of InMobi Advertising, believes this evolution is fuelled by specialised agentic commerce layers that interpret consumer intent more effectively than search engines, though discovery varies by category. Meta has embedded AI assistants across its platforms, Amazon is developing AI shopping assistants, and OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT for research and product exploration. Dipanjan Basu, Partner at Fireside Ventures, believes AI recommendation systems are redefining brand equity, stating, “Brand trust becomes a data asset. Brands will increasingly compete through machine-readable signals such as review authenticity, return rates, sustainability credentials and other forms of verifiable credibility.”