AI search is becoming a key resource for buyers, guiding decisions about trust, selection, and best fit.
Attest reports a nine-point rise to 47% of consumers who say they are likely to use generative AI tools to research purchases. It also found 43% say they trust information from a generative AI tool.
This shift changes the touchpoints businesses have with potential customers. Buyers can assess whether a business fits their needs, appears reputable, and merits contact before they reach your website.
When AI provides inaccurate information about a business, the impact can lead to a loss of sales and trust in your brand. Potential customers may be misled about your products, services, or reputation, leading them to dismiss your business before ever contacting you. Misinformation can erode trust, harm your brand image, and lead to lost opportunities, especially when buyers rely on AI-generated answers as credible summaries. Even a single AI-generated error can lead to missed sales opportunities and lasting damage to the brand's reputation.
Why do wrong answers happen
AI search does not create new facts. It summarises what is already online and often favours information repeated across sources it views as reputable. If the public record about your business is out of date, incomplete, or focused on one theme, the summary may reflect that.
People use AI answers much like headlines: a quick scan for something usable. People completing a quick AI search will rarely stop to trace every claim back to its source. An error can still be perceived as believable because it presents a tidy, confident explanation.
In October 2025, the European Broadcasting Union and the BBC published research testing more than 3,000 AI responses. It found 45% contained at least one significant issue, and 81% had some form of issue.
How it plays out in buying decisions
AI can misrepresent your business. Outdated information lingers online if not managed. If an AI answer tells a buyer that you do not provide what they need, the search may end there.
If your online presence contains negative reviews, articles, or forum posts without clear responses and context, summaries may repeat those themes without balance. For buyers focused on weighing up risk, that framing is important.
A limited amount of earned coverage and few credible third-party references give AI tools less to cite. Competitors may then be named, explained, and recommended while you are overlooked in shortlists.
Changing AI outcomes
As online platforms and technology change, so must businesses' approach to connecting with customers online. That means looking beyond paid ads and basic link building, and putting full-service digital PR at the centre of your online presence.
Muck Rack reports that 95% of AI citations come from non-paid media, a reminder that authority here is earned, not bought.
Full-service digital PR is traditional PR discipline applied online: placing accurate narratives in credible outlets, and building consistent third-party brand mentions that reflect the business ethos, knowledge and reputation.
It starts with a clearer public record. That means key facts about your business appearing consistently across credible third-party platforms and publications, backed by earned coverage that reflects what you do, your expertise, and your insights. That is what gives AI search something reliable to cite.
It also requires monitoring. Brands traditionally track press coverage. The same discipline now applies to AI search and online publications. Check how your company is being cited, which sources are being used, and which themes keep repeating. When something is wrong, the fix is usually to correct the source, publish better material, and strengthen the owned and earned coverage around it.
We Do Stories supports organisations with digital PR and reputation management designed for AI search, helping brands improve what gets cited and keep what is said about them accurate and current.
Take charge of your business’s presence in AI search. Reach out to We Do Stories now for a targeted consultation and actionable plan to boost your digital PR and online visibility. Let us help you control what gets cited and increase your brand’s influence.
Author: Joel Buckland - CEO of We Do Stories PR Agency.
Joel Buckland is a strategic communicator with over 20 years’ experience in media, PR and brand development. He’s worked with the BBC, Discovery, Al Jazeera, among others, and now leads the PR agency We Do Stories. Joel helps organisations grow their brand awareness and reach through clear communication shaped by journalism and digital strategy.
About We Do Stories
We Do Stories is an integrated PR agency based in Cambridgeshire, founded by former journalists and media professionals with over 20 years’ experience. We work with innovators and changemakers to build awareness, trust, and influence through clear, strategic communication. From media outreach and press coverage to integrated PR and digital campaigns, we help brands tell their stories, connect with their audience, and drive growth.