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New research highlights growing challenges as AI-powered discovery reshapes the customer journey and traditional attribution models
A new industry study suggests that marketers are facing increasing difficulties in understanding how consumers discover and evaluate brands as artificial intelligence becomes a larger part of the online shopping and research experience.
The report, developed by eMarketer in collaboration with Partnerize, examines how AI-powered search tools, recommendation systems, and generative discovery platforms are changing the way consumers interact with brands before making purchasing decisions.
According to the research, while the vast majority of marketing leaders acknowledge that AI-driven discovery is already influencing marketing strategies, only a small percentage currently have reliable methods to connect AI-generated visibility with measurable business outcomes or partner compensation.
The findings indicate that traditional digital marketing measurement systems may be struggling to keep pace with changing consumer behavior. As AI-generated recommendations, summaries, and search experiences increasingly guide purchase decisions, marketers continue to rely heavily on attribution models designed around clicks and direct referrals.
Industry experts suggest this shift is creating a growing disconnect between where consumer influence originates and where commercial value is ultimately measured. Many purchasing decisions are now being shaped before users ever click on a website, making it more difficult for brands to accurately identify the sources of influence that contribute to conversions.
The study found that AI-driven discovery has become one of the most challenging channels for marketers to measure effectively. Only a small number of organizations report having end-to-end visibility into how AI-powered discovery contributes to revenue generation and customer acquisition.
As a result, companies are beginning to adjust their marketing strategies. Many respondents indicated plans to increase investment in content creation, search optimization, and partnership-based marketing initiatives as traditional search traffic patterns continue to evolve.
The report also highlighted ongoing challenges related to measurement infrastructure. A significant portion of marketers continue to rely on multiple disconnected platforms for reporting and attribution, making it difficult to develop a unified view of performance across channels.
Researchers note that the rise of AI-generated answers and zero-click experiences is accelerating these challenges. Consumers are increasingly receiving recommendations, product comparisons, and decision-making assistance directly from AI systems without visiting the websites that originally created the information.
This trend is prompting marketers, publishers, creators, and commerce platforms to reconsider how influence should be measured and rewarded in an environment where traditional referral traffic is no longer the sole indicator of value.
Industry analysts believe content creators, affiliate publishers, and trusted third-party sources are becoming increasingly important in AI-generated search experiences and large language model responses. As a result, brands that fail to recognize and compensate these contributors may risk losing visibility and influence in emerging AI-driven ecosystems.
The report suggests that future marketing success may depend on an organization’s ability to develop new measurement frameworks capable of tracking influence across increasingly complex and machine-mediated consumer journeys.
As AI continues to transform digital discovery, businesses are expected to place greater emphasis on understanding how recommendations, content visibility, and brand mentions contribute to purchasing decisions, even when those interactions do not generate traditional clicks or direct website visits.
The study concludes that organizations willing to adapt their measurement models, attribution strategies, and partner relationships early may be better positioned to compete in the next phase of AI-driven commerce, where influence itself is becoming a critical economic asset.
