From search to purchase: How AI is changing the consumer journey

Consumers are increasingly using AI not only to find information, but to help decide what to buy — potentially compressing a journey from first discovering a brand to making a purchase into a matter of minutes. On the latest episode of After the Download, host Chris Havemann sits down with Debra Aho Williamson, Chief Analyst at Sonata Insights and the writer of The AI Ad Economy newsletter, to explore what that shift means for marketers.

Williamson spent 17 years at eMarketer tracking the rise of social media, and she's applying the same lens to a new behavioral shift: the move from searching to asking.

Here's what that shift means for CMOs, and for the wider advertising industry.

Search and AI are starting to blur

Williamson points to a simple example from immediately before the recording. She turned to Google for help when the software controlling her webcam wasn't working. After an initial search and a follow-up question about her operating system, she suddenly found herself in AI Mode — no blue links, just a conversation.

Search and AI are becoming “commingled,” she says, to the point where consumers may not even register when one becomes the other.

Williamson also points to data showing substantial differences in AI adoption between markets, with monthly usage higher in some parts of the Middle East and South America than in the US. But her broader point is less about the precise adoption rate than the direction of travel: as more people experience AI and start using it regularly, it becomes a habit.

The purchase journey just got a lot shorter

The bigger change, Williamson argues, isn't where consumers look — it's how they decide. Traditional marketing works in stages: build awareness, shape opinion, nudge toward a decision. AI can compress those stages into a much shorter interaction.

“You're hearing from the AI: well, this is the best product... and here's why.”

She's experienced it herself, going from never hearing of a brand to buying it inside a single AI conversation. For marketers, that potentially means fewer opportunities to influence the decision before a recommendation is made.

Watch the behavior, not just the sentiment

Here Williamson draws directly on her social media research. For years at eMarketer, her team ran an annual Digital Trust Survey, and Facebook consistently ranked at the bottom. Advertisers kept spending there anyway, and usage kept growing.

Her conclusion is that consumer sentiment about a platform and consumer behavior on that platform can tell very different stories. People may express skepticism or distrust while continuing to use a service because of the value it provides. She sees the potential for a similar pattern with AI, where concerns about trust and accuracy can exist alongside growing usage.

“I always tell people, you do double check. Don't necessarily believe the AI.”

What this means for CMOs

Williamson argues that marketers should start experimenting even before there is a settled playbook. On platforms without advertising, that means thinking about how a brand appears organically in AI responses; where paid opportunities exist, marketers have another decision to make about how those channels fit together.

Which platforms ultimately win that battle remains an open question. For Williamson, that uncertainty is a reason for marketers to start experimenting and learning now rather than waiting for a settled playbook.

This is part one of a two-part conversation with Debra Aho Williamson — part two, on agentic AI and what comes after the chatbot, lands in two weeks.

After the Download is hosted by RealityMine CEO Chris Havemann. New episodes explore how consumer behavior is changing in the digital economy — and what that means for the businesses competing for attention and share.

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