We wrote recently about how, in a B2B eCommerce context, AI referrers eating Google’s lunch had been a bit overblown. But, for context, the client in question sells essentials for manufacturing companies, but the average order value is around £250. So, consideration, as part of the purchase funnel, isn’t really there. Indeed, if these products were bought by purchasing managers in a commercial environment, price might not be much of a factor, either. As part of this exercise, I also promised to check out what was happening with one of our B2C clients. But, as a reminder - here’s how the B2B data stacked up vs. the previous six months:

So, the interesting thing here was that AI referrers, in this niche, appeared to be in decline. And, crucially, given our remit is to make this company money, zero sales have been generated via LLMs.

B2C client in context

This B2C client sells high-ticket furniture. The average order value in this niche is around £1,000, and this furniture also has a technological element. In short, you do your research before buying something from this company. The data we analysed, over the same period, trend-wise, was literally the reverse of the B2B company.

So what does this actually tell us?

To state the obvious, given that LLMs appear to be used by many consumers as a research and discovery tool, products that demand research are probably going to do quite well out of leaning into AI visibility.

The death of Google?

The reports of Google’s death have been greatly exaggerated many times and over many years. Remember when every brand wanted an app and thought that an app would be the only way they would communicate with their customers? Or remember when certain publishers touted closing their website and distributing content solely on Facebook? What actually happened is analogous to when video didn’t kill the radio. Different channels co-exist and integrate.

And, Google will probably win the AI race (as they have done with others).

Your LLM Strategy

It’s not rocket science, is it? If your widget brand is a low-value, relatively low-ticket item,  LLM visibility doesn’t need to be front and centre of your digital marketing strategy. If you are a company that sells products with a long sales cycle, of a high value, where research is a core part of the top of funnel buying mix, it should.

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