Rise of the Artificial Influencer (Part 2)

ChatGPT-4 browsed the web and concluded I should buy a Subaru. Does this mean paid advertising is headed for extinction?

Jun 01, 2023

The more AI’s help make purchase decisions, the more they behave like influencers — artificial influencers. This means brands need to not only worry about what people think, they also need to worry about what AIs think.

ChatGPT-4 utilizes a 'browser model' (BM) for web searches. Three key factors seem to play a role in maintaining a positive perception through this model:

ChatGPT accessibility — content formatted for the ChatGPT text browser to avoid read failures.
Earned media — brand cited on third party websites that ChatGPT deems relevant and authoritative.
Bing SEO — brand content referenced within the top ten search results on Bing

Here’s sample prompt from “Rise of the Artificial Influencer”, adapted for ChatGPT Browser Model:

“If I’m adventurous should I consider a toyota or a subaru? toyota.com subaru.com”

ChatGPT BM took 65 seconds to read content and respond. It dedicated an equal amount of time to browsing both the Toyota and Subaru websites. Both Toyota and Subaru had ChatGPT accessibility issues (see Exhibit 1 below).

ChatGPT Skips Over Ads

When processing search results, ChatGPT BM skips over ads and goes straight to specific links it thinks are relevant and authoritative. In one instance (see Exhibit 1 panel 4) it chose links that appear 6th and 8th on standard Bing search results (outsideonline.com and territorysupply.com).

By delving into ChatGPT's browser history, valuable insights can be gained regarding the websites it deems relevant. Here is a sample of third party sites ChatGPT-4 BM thought were authoritative in this context: topspeed.com, roadandtrack.com, getjerry.com, carbuzz.com, outsideonline.com, territorysupply.com

Bottom Line

ChatGPT-4 browsed the web and concluded that I should buy a Subaru:

“I would recommend considering the Subaru Outback.”— ChatGPT-4 Web Model

ChatGPT-4 Web Model thinks I should buy a Subaru Outback https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes

Other takeaways:

When it comes to influencing ChatGPT, paid media is probably a waste of money.
It’s important to know which sites ChatGPT thinks are authoritative and make this part of an earned media plan.
Sites need to be “ChatGPT accessible.”
Bing SEO would seem to affect ChatGPT-4 Browser Model results.