Forrester says answer engines now shape brand choice

Forrester has published research arguing that answer engines have become a brand-building channel for marketers, shaping consumer preferences before website visits occur.

The report examines services including ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Claude and Perplexity, and concludes that they operate differently from traditional search engines. Rather than mainly capturing existing demand through ranked links, these systems influence awareness, consideration and purchase intent through conversational responses that shape how brands are understood.

Forrester argues that marketers should not treat answer engine optimisation as simply an extension of search engine optimisation. Organisations focused only on rankings, snippets and clicks may overlook how large language models present a brand's relevance, differentiation and trustworthiness to prospective buyers.

Answer engines are also compressing the consideration journey by allowing consumers to ask multiple follow-up questions in a single exchange. Users can compare products and assess options more quickly, while brands face greater pressure to appear credibly in AI-generated responses earlier in the decision-making process.

Changing discovery

The report describes answer engines as intermediaries in digital discovery because they synthesise material from many sources rather than simply directing users to websites. In this model, visibility depends not only on a brand's own online content but also on the wider body of commentary, citations and references AI systems use to construct answers.

This has implications for communications teams as well as search specialists. Public relations, earned media and thought leadership now play a larger role in determining whether answer engines mention, cite or recommend a brand, because these systems rely on expert commentary, executive perspectives, third-party validation and other trusted sources when assessing authority.

The findings also point to broader organisational changes. Communications, content, SEO, social media and wider marketing teams need to work more closely together because answer engines pull information from publishers, professional networks, creator platforms, community forums, social media discussions and brand-owned channels.

Broader inputs

Forrester's analysis suggests that consistency across those sources is becoming more important as AI systems assemble narratives about a company from material spread across the web. A fragmented or poorly maintained presence could leave room for answer engines to define a brand's market position without direct input from the organisation itself.

The firm also argues that the economic value of visibility in answer engines differs from conventional web traffic metrics. If an AI-generated response narrows a buyer's shortlist before any site visit takes place, marketers may need to measure influence in terms of preference formation and consideration rather than relying only on clicks and rankings.

That would mark a significant change for teams that have long judged digital performance through search referral volumes and website engagement. In Forrester's framework, answer engines should be assessed as channels that shape perception earlier in the buying journey, not just as gateways that deliver users to owned platforms.

Nikhil Lai, Principal Analyst at Forrester, set out that view in the research commentary. "Answer engines are the primary audience that marketers must influence because they determine when and how buyers form preferences," he said.

He added: "Engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini turn curiosity into guided, branded exploration by inducing buyers to ask branded questions early in their journeys. Engines don't just answer questions; they contextualize brands and foster deep evaluation."