Adapting to the Shift: Reaching Voters in an AI-Driven Search Landscape
AI is changing how voters search for election or issue-related information, so political campaigns need to plan ahead for how their ads will appear in search results.
Research from Bain found that 80% of consumers now rely on AI-generated results for at least 40% of their searches, which has already reduced organic web traffic by up to 25%. Despite this shift, Google search advertising is far from dead, and the rollout of AI-driven results in Google Search hasn’t resulted in a drop-off in click-through rates for political campaigns. There are a few key reasons for this.
- Google has implemented policies to avoid displaying AI overviews for sensitive political topics, particularly during election periods. This includes topics such as election processes, candidates, races, ballot measures, legislation, and controversial political issues.
- Additionally, Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, is restricted from answering election-related questions in countries with upcoming elections, including the US. When users inquire about politically related topics, Gemini directs them to Google Search instead. These measures are designed to prevent misinformation, reduce liability, and ensure neutrality in politically sensitive contexts.
- While tools like ChatGPT provide information on political issues, many users are aware of the potential unreliability of these sources, especially when it comes to voting information. In the lead-up to the 2024 election, the government issued a warning advising against using these platforms for accurate voting guidance. Despite this, some users may still turn to these tools for political information, although they are likely to be fewer in number than those using ChatGPT for non-political queries.
New Advertising Opportunities
As AI platforms like Google and ChatGPT continue to evolve, they are likely to explore new ways to monetize, including new ad formats, which will create new opportunities for political advertisers. As these formats emerge, it will be crucial for advertisers to act swiftly to stay ahead in this rapidly changing landscape.
Website AI Optimization
SEO is becoming increasingly relevant as AI optimization becomes more prominent. AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI are changing how individuals find information online by prioritizing websites with detailed content over sites that focus on traditional SEO tactics and keywords. As more information becomes available about Large Language Model (LLM) training, it’ll be important for political advertisers to understand how the models are trained on information to ensure that client websites are both crawlable by AI and designed with AI training in mind.
To improve visibility in this evolving landscape, one effective strategy will be to update platforms like Wikipedia with campaign information. Since both Google and ChatGPT frequently reference Wikipedia, ensuring campaigns are well-represented there increases the chances of being incorporated into AI-generated responses. In addition, sponsored articles or op-eds on news sites could become more valuable. By having the campaign’s language spread across different platforms, the core message stands a better chance of being picked up during LLM training, which can further boost a campaign’s visibility and relevance.
Testing AI Visibility
Looking further ahead, there is an opportunity to develop tools that have the capability to run tests on AI models to evaluate how campaign websites perform when LLMs are asked questions related to the campaign. This is likely a longer play, but it’s something to consider as the search landscape continues to evolve.
The Bottom Line
Search continues to be an integral part of election and issue based digital campaigns, and campaigns should continue to leverage it while also preparing for a future where AI plays a growing role in how voters research candidates, elections, and political issues.
