AI has reshaped how we think about acquisition strategy. It’s no longer about starting at the top of the funnel with broad awareness campaigns. Instead, we begin at the bottom, focusing on building understanding, credibility, and reach in the right sequence.
For the past 30 years, the industry followed a top-down model: raising awareness, gaining visibility, and then guiding potential customers through the purchase funnel. This approach made sense during the broadcast era and was somewhat effective in the search era, but today, in AI-driven environments, it’s outdated.
Today’s search engines and AI-powered assistants build brand recommendations from the ground up. They need to grasp who we are before they can evaluate our credibility. Only after establishing credibility can they recommend us. If we prioritize top-down strategies, we’re essentially wasting budget on awareness without a strong foundational understanding for AI to work with.
AI systems hold the key to successful brand recommendations — if they don’t understand our brand, or find us less credible compared to our competitors, they’ll likely recommend someone else. This AI-led shift is what I call the ultimate zero-sum game: the unseen recommendation to prospects we might not even know about.
The acquisition funnel hasn’t altered for users. They still journey from awareness to consideration to decision. Essentially, Elias St. Elmo Lewis’s model from 1898 still applies. All marketing models have been based on this, although channels have evolved. The mantra remains: reach first, relationship second, commitment third.
In my experience, the digital landscape changed with Google’s Knowledge Graph in 2012. It allowed machines to form independent opinions about brands, highlighting the need for brand understanding and reputation over mere awareness. Since then, my focus has centered on these aspects because AI-driven engines and agents rely on it to direct users towards credible destinations.
This marks a structural shift in marketing since 1898. While the user still travels from awareness to decision, in AI engines and agents, it’s our understanding and credibility that position us at the top of their funnel, achieved by training AI to guide users to us.
The coexistence of top-down and bottom-up strategies is real. We can still build awareness through controlled channels—paid media, broadcasts, and direct outreach. However, in the realm of organic engines, we must start from the bottom of the funnel, building a foundation for AI to guide users efficiently.
Every algorithm, AI engine, and agent operates based on entity and brand signals. Social media reach, too, hinges on brand recognition and engagement. Therefore, investing in a solid brand understanding orients us favorably within the AI framework, where roadmaps to our brand are increasingly machine-built.
This content reflects my approach to developing robust brand presences that resonate with both AI systems and human audiences.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
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