The way people find and buy products has changed while most brand marketing strategies haven’t. DMi Partners’ new 2026 research report, Winning in the LLM Era: The Affiliate’s New Playbook, breaks down how AI search and LLM visibility are reshaping brand discovery, and what brands can do about it.

We analyzed over 1.96 million AI search sessions and data from 200+ brands. Here’s what we found.

Consumers Are Already Using AI to Search and Shop

Younger shoppers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are opening ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google Gemini before they ever type in a traditional search query.

• 74% of U.S. consumers have used AI tools to discover, compare, or buy products in the last six months
• 42% of U.S. and European consumers now start their online research with an AI assistant, nearly double last year
• AI referral traffic to U.S. retail sites surged 4,700% year-over-year as of mid-2025 (Adobe Analytics)

Those AI-generated answers are shaping purchase decisions before a consumer does their own independent research.

AI Isn’t Citing Your Website. It’s Citing Everyone Else’s.

85% of brand mentions in AI-generated answers come from third-party pages, not a brand’s own site. LLMs are built to trust independent sources over owned content.

AI search tools systematically favor outside consensus. Review articles, expert roundups, comparison guides, and media coverage are now essential for LLM visibility.

Here’s the counterintuitive part: nearly 90% of ChatGPT citations come from pages ranked position 21 or lower in traditional Google results. AI citation potential and Google ranking are not the same, and that’s a significant opportunity for brands willing to think beyond conventional SEO. Adding LLM visibility to your SEO strategy is now a modern-day requirement if you want to be discovered by shoppers.

Key Findings for Brands Trying to Win in the LLM Era

• AI-referred traffic converts at dramatically higher rates. Users arriving from AI platforms have already been pre-qualified by the recommendation. They arrive knowing what they want and why.
• Over 65% of content cited by leading AI models contains affiliate links or is sponsored. Affiliate publishers are already the dominant voices inside LLM responses.
• Content freshness is an LLM visibility signal. Pages updated within the last 30 days earn 3.2x more AI citations than outdated ones. Regular refreshes are essential to maintain relevancy.
• The window is still open for early adopters. Most brands haven’t updated their affiliate content standards or measurement frameworks for the AI era yet. Those who act now will build AI citation footprints that are hard for latecomers to displace.

Get Early Access to the Full Report

The complete 2026 research report on AI search visibility and affiliate strategy is coming soon. Contact us to request early access to the full PDF report.