TL;DR: Brands win with AI agents by focusing on four core strategies: machine-readable structured data on every page, clear and semantically aligned calls to action, FAQ-formatted content supported by proper schema markup, and real-time consistency across all platforms. These aren't optional enhancements — they're the baseline requirements for brand visibility in an AI-first discovery environment.
"Word-of-mouth" used to mean a trusted recommendation from a friend. Then it meant a review or a social post. But by the end of 2026, the most valuable "recommender" might not be a person at all — but an autonomous agent making choices on your customers' behalf.
After a few months of agentic AI dominating headlines, you're likely aware of this shift. (72% of marketing leaders already expect AI search to have more impact on customer acquisition than traditional SEO.) But understanding this evolution is only step one. The next — and more urgent — step is preparing your brand to show up, stand out, and be selected in an AI-first world.
Let's dive in.
New to AI agents? Start with AI Agents 101: What They Are and How They Work.
Traffic is at risk. Being machine-readable is the new table stakes.
Clearly, AI agents aren't search engines. They don't list 10 links and wait for users to click through and decide. Instead, they:
Synthesize content across sources
Assess accuracy, trust, and freshness
Make direct recommendations — sometimes without surfacing your site at all
Take action (like directly placing an order or booking an appointment)
And while not all AI tools calling themselves "agentic" truly are, new, advanced capabilities are emerging fast:
Personalized research: Agents remember users' preferences and return curated results
Task automation: They can place orders, book travel, manage loyalty programs, and more
Multi-agent coordination: Assistants delegate tasks to specialized agents (e.g., one for flights, one for hotels), creating a more modular, accountable system
According to our Chief Data Officer, Christian Ward, the skills of these agents are already shaping how people research, compare, and convert.
"We're witnessing a massive shift," he says. As agents recommend and act on users behalf without serving up links, "brands will see less website traffic. But theyll also see much higher intent — and more transactions — driven by these agents."
McKinsey suggests that 20-50% of site traffic is already at risk for brands in the AI era. That represents a major business risk — if your brands online information isnt optimized to be machine-readable (and therefore, recommendable).
So, what can leaders do to win with AI agents today?
Your AI agent readiness checklist
To give your brand the best chance of being recommended by AI agents, direct teams to:
1. Make sure every web page is structured for machine readability
Use structured data formats (like schema.org markup) on every page to clearly define what your content is, not just what it says. This helps agents parse, trust, and act on your information when users ask for assistance.
Structured data formats were already key for "traditional" search, so this is a continuation of best practices, not something fully net-new. But as a starting point, location pages should be marked up with LocalBusiness schema, your FAQs with FAQPage, and your services with Product or Service schema.
For example: A spa chain tagging location pages with LocalBusiness helps AI agents definitively identify their precise geographic location, operating hours, phone number, and specific local services.
2. Add actionable CTAs to each relevant page
Every necessary page should have a clear next step. But here's the key: Your call-to-action can't just look like a button — it needs to be semantically clear.
Instead of a generic "Learn More" link, use structured markup to define actions like:
ReserveAction for booking a table
OrderAction for food delivery
ScheduleAction for appointments
For example: A restaurant using OrderAction schema for its "Order Now" button can surface in food delivery queries — and make it more likely that an AI agent can place an order directly for a user.
3. Publish new content (on structured pages) with FAQs, bullets, and tables
In many ways, content is still king. But while structuring your content properly on the backend (step #1) is helpful to AI agents, so is how it reads on the front end.
Publish new content on key brand topics with short paragraphs — and avoid burying key facts. AI tools pull from bulleted lists, tables, and consistently labeled sections more effectively.
Use a comparison table to highlight product specs
Structure store hours in a consistent, crawlable format
Format your "Locations" page with clear headers, addresses, and embedded maps
For example: A national electronics retailer that launches a new laptop line with content using bulleted feature lists and a comparison table for specs is more likely to appear in agent recommendations for certain "new laptop" queries.
4. Build the right framework to keep data accurate, consistent, and fresh — every day
AI agents prioritize up-to-date, conflict-free information. Inconsistent hours, outdated reviews, or broken links hurt your credibility with machines and people alike.
For example: A bank with conflicting branch hours across its site, Google, and Yelp may be deprioritized or skipped entirely in agentic results — because the agent doesn't have confidence about when they're open and if they can help.
And this isn't something you can "set and forget." You need the right tool(s) in place so that you can frequently update your brand information everywhere it appears online. Consistency and data freshness are key signals to AI.
Pro-tip: Yext helps brands keep core information accurate, consistent, and up to date by syncing changes across search engines, AI platforms, maps, and directories in real time. Instead of chasing fixes channel by channel, you get a system designed to support daily updates at scale — so both AI agents and customers see information they can trust.
The path forward
AI agents are here to stay, acting as the new gatekeepers of discovery and decision-making. And by the end of the year, brands that aren't optimized for them may be invisible in the most critical moments of discovery.
But winning brands won't be the ones with the most content. They'll be the ones with the clearest, most trustworthy, and most actionable content — ready for a world where autonomous systems shape every step of the customer journey.
Want to see how your brand shows up in AI search? Check your visibility now.
