3 Strategic Questions Every Brand Must Answer in 2025

More and more customers are turning to AI search channels like ChatGPT and Perplexity to ask complex questions and learn about brands. And it's great—because they get fast, contextualized responses. But for marketers? AI search is a black box.

A lot of what's happening in search today is Wizard-of-Oz-esque mystery hidden behind an AI-generated curtain of answers, overviews, and chat walls. It's harder to see what's working — and why. So, how do you stay one step ahead?

It all comes down to asking three simple but powerful marketing-staple questions. These questions aren't new — but in 2025, getting clear answers is more important than ever.

Measuring success starts with knowing how your brand shows up across every platform and at every location.

Why this matters:

If your brand information is outdated, inconsistent, hard to find, not showing up the way you want it to, or (worst of all) not showing up at all — you're missing out on new business.

What you need to know:

• Are people finding your brand when they search, and if so — where?

• Are your business hours, services, and details consistent and accurate everywhere?

• What are traditional search engines and AI search platforms, reviews, and ratings saying about your brand?

What you can do with this information:

• Spot any issues and fix the basics.

• Make sure your information is current, consistent, and showing up in all the right places.

• Identify opportunities to improve traditional and AI search visibility.

But checking these boxes isn't enough.

To truly understand your position in the market, you need to zoom out and look at how you stack up against everyone else vying for your customers' attention.

Which brings us to...

To optimize your digital presence, you have to know how you stack up — and why others might be winning attention that could be yours.

Why this matters:

If competitors are more visible or have stronger reviews, they're likely winning clicks — and the business.

What to look at:

• Where are competitors showing up that you're not, and vice versa?

• What does your brand's macro and micro performance look like?

• What are competitors with better visibility doing differently?

What you can do with this information:

Knowing where you stand helps you spot the gaps and opportunities. If someone else is winning in a particular area, figure out how to outperform them.

To rise above, you first have to analyze what's causing competitors to outshine your brand. Do they have better reviews? More mentions on social? A more consistent digital presence? And how does that change when you look at local vs. regional vs. national competitors?

Understanding your position in macro and micro competitive ranks turns data into direction or action.

This is the perfect segway to…

Having a bunch of data doesn't help if you're not sure what to do with it. You need clear, actionable steps, not just reports.

At this point, you understand your position in the world — both when it comes to individual brand performance and how you compare to key competitors.

Now, it's time to figure out what you're going to do with all your newfound knowledge.

What to prioritize:

• 'Low hanging fruit' opportunities that can instantly boost your visibility. Example: Sync your data to more publishers to improve local discoverability.

• Low-effort, high-impact tasks that take little time but drive powerful results. Example: Ask satisfied customers to leave reviews on high-traffic sites.

• Strategic adjustments that help you outperform key competitors. Example: If brands that show up before you have more images than you, add more photos to your GBP.

The brands that move fastest, learn quickest, and act with clarity will win.

Scout gives you a real-time view of your brand's visibility and sentiment across AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok, as well as traditional search engines like Google. It benchmarks your visibility and sentiment against competitors — and shows you what to do next.

No guesswork. No disconnected tools. Just clear answers, prioritized actions, and measurable impact.

See what's working (and fix what's not) with Yext Scout.