What is agentic search?
Agentic search uses AI agents that can independently plan and perform multiple search or research steps to accomplish a user's goal. Instead of simply returning results, the agent can gather information, evaluate options, refine searches, and synthesize findings before presenting an answer.
Can AI agents search the web on their own?
Yes. AI agents can be designed to search, retrieve, analyze, and compare information from available web sources with limited user intervention. Depending on their capabilities and permissions, they may perform several searches and refine their approach as they gather new information.
What tasks can an AI search agent perform for a user?
An AI search agent can research topics, compare options, summarize sources, find products or services, gather supporting information, and refine searches based on what it discovers. More advanced agents may also complete multi-step tasks when they have access to appropriate tools and user permissions.
Can AI agents compare products, services, or vendors?
Yes. AI agents can gather information about multiple products, services, or vendors and compare factors such as features, pricing, reviews, specifications, and suitability. This can reduce the amount of manual research users need to perform before making a decision.
What happens when an AI agent researches a company?
An AI agent may retrieve information from the company's website and other accessible sources to understand its products, services, reputation, expertise, and relevance. Clear, accurate, consistent, and machine-accessible brand information therefore becomes important when AI systems research businesses on users' behalf.
How will agentic search change the customer buying journey?
Agentic search can shift parts of product discovery, research, comparison, and evaluation from the buyer to an AI agent. Brands may increasingly need to influence not only human visitors but also AI systems that retrieve and compare information before recommending options to users.
Will AI agents replace traditional search engines?
AI agents are more likely to change how people use search than completely replace traditional search engines. Conventional search remains valuable for direct discovery, while agentic experiences can handle complex, multi-step research tasks that previously required users to conduct several searches manually.
How can brands become discoverable to AI agents?
Brands can improve discoverability by maintaining accurate information, accessible webpages, strong technical SEO, clear entity signals, authoritative content, and consistent product or service details. AI agents need information they can retrieve, understand, verify, and compare when researching options for users.