Pharma Brands Can Take Steps Now to Prepare
Intelligence is changing how we access information and the industry behind it. Since Google’s launch, when people needed to ask a question or find information they jumped to a search engine. While we have come a long way from the original 10 blue links, the search industry has not seen such a watershed moment in its lifespan until now. The most popular names in search are in a race to enhance their functionality with AI technology and it’s changing everything we know about search.
Search Engines Won’t Die, They Will Evolve
Microsoft, in partnership with OpenAI, was the most aggressive in pursuing Generative AI to improve user experience by combining Bing’s Index, rankings and search results with OpenAI’s GPT models. The additional layer of creative reasoning from this aims to provide better, more relevant responses from ChatGPT. Google is also placing big bets on Generative AI. With their new efforts in Google SGE, they plan to help users “be able to understand a topic faster, uncover new viewpoints and insights, and get things done more easily,” Google’s VP & GM of Search Elizabeth Reid wrote in a post¹.
The combination of Generative AI and the experience across these search engines, social networks, and destinations creates an extremely exciting time for marketers.
How Will This Make Users Experience Better?
The infusion of large language models (LLM) technology will allow search engines to better understand more complex questions and provide more in-depth, accurate answers. Previously, a searcher might need to perform multiple searches and piece together multiple answers to ultimately satisfy your needs. Now, users will be able to ask their complete question, no matter how complex, and receive an answer powered by Generative AI. The more the LLMs learn the more customized and relevant the results will become.
What Does This Mean for the Pharmaceutical Industry and Brands?
Brands will still need SEO strategies, but they will evolve just like they always have. It may even make sense to call it something different such as large language model optimization (LLMO)or artificial intelligence optimization (AIO). Still,the underlying effort in which we optimize your content for the end user will evolve.
One of the strongest ways to embrace these changes is leverage answer engine optimization (AEO). This type of optimization focuses on being able to answer your user’s questions directly with your content in an easily discoverable format. To put it simply, you teach LLMs by providing them with the answers they need and they pass those answers on to your users and mention you as the source of support.
The search industry has always been something that has been ever-changing but one thing will always remain. As long as there are search engines that are interested in holistically supplying users with information, there will always be an opportunity to optimize your digital assets to receive the best results. As the strategies get comfortable the algorithms change and the advent of search engines embracing LLMs to provide tailored answers to user queries is just that; the next phase of search.
