The New Strategy for AI Search? Structure Your Brand Data in a Knowledge Graph

As more customers search on AI platforms, brands need to adjust their strategies so they can show up. After all, AI-driven search experiences (like Gemini, ChatGPT, Meta AI, and other AI models) don't search like Google's old bots. With AI, there's no site crawling and keyword hunting across indexed pages.

Instead, AI search pulls from a wide range of sources and delivers quick, informed, and conversational answers to questions, and customers trust what AI search shares.

As "traditional" search volume declines and AI search accelerates, brands must reimagine their local SEO and content strategies to align with an AI-friendly data strategy. It's key to staying visible and reaching customers using AI platforms.

Traditional search engines worked like librarians. When a customer asked for information, the search engine "visited" (crawled) each "library branch" (digital listing). It scanned algorithmically ranked "shelves and books" (data sets) looking for keyword matches. Then, it delivered "excerpts or snippets" (SERPs). But if your brand's information was inconsistent — like mismatched hours — search engines struggled to provide accurate answers.

AI works less like a librarian and more like a brain. AI-driven search experiences rely on structured data to understand and rank content. Instead of surfacing a handful of indexed web pages that may or may not have the information customers are searching for, AI models pull from billions of data points simultaneously from a well-structured source where everything is interconnected.

AI prioritizes what it can read, understand, and trust.

This is why structured data, stored in tools like knowledge graphs, is essential for surfacing in AI-driven search results.

A knowledge graph organizes information in a structured, interconnected format that search engines and AI/LLM models can quickly parse and understand. It doesn't just store data — it connects it.

As your brand's single source of truth, a knowledge graph connects all the data it contains, creating a complete picture for AI to draw upon.

With a full picture, AI can find and prioritize the data it trusts. Then, it can generate precise, conversational responses that match customers' intents in nuanced questions – whether for branded searches like "where is the closest Starbucks that has sufficient space to work" or unbranded ones like "coffee shops near southwest Austin with outdoor seating and Wi-Fi."

Without this structure, brands fail to surface in AI search results. Why? AI struggles with incomplete or disconnected data, making it harder to deliver accurate answers.

It gets even more challenging to reach customers who use voice assistants like Alexa, social tools like TikTok, or direct messaging apps like WhatsApp using Meta AI, where speed and precision are critical.

A knowledge graph not only meets today's AI-driven search demands. It also prepares your brand for the future because it's an adaptable and structured source of truth. It's the foundation that keeps your brand information ready for emerging AI tools and future search innovation.

How so? Knowledge graphs help brands with:

• Compatibility with existing and emerging AI tools: Your structured data will work with today's tools like Google AI Overviews, Siri, or Perplexity, and new platforms as they emerge.

• Consistency across platforms: Whether customers search on Google Maps, Instagram, or Alexa, a knowledge graph keeps your information accurate everywhere.

• Improved customer experiences: With structured data, AI provides faster, more reliable answers, boosting customer trust and loyalty and ultimately leading to a higher lifetime value (LTV).

As AI reshapes how customers find information, operating with structured, connected data isn't optional. To stay discoverable in this new era of search, your brand's data must be organized in a way that makes sense to AI.

By investing in a knowledge graph today, you gain a competitive advantage over competitors who kick the can down the road. You're also creating a future-ready foundation to make sure customers can keep discovering you on your terms, no matter where they're searching.

Amplify your brand's reach and connect with new customers as they move into more AI-driven search experiences. Download the Ebook, 3 Keys to SEO Success in Generative Search.