Is Search Waning? How AI Is Rewriting Consumer Discovery in Home Loans and Sport

For almost two decades, I’ve watched search engines define how consumers make sense of the world. If we wanted to discover a brand, compare a product, or understand a category, we searched. Links led us to opinions. Opinions led us to decisions. Visibility became synonymous with relevance.

Today, I see that logic being quietly rewritten.

I was at a recent fireside conversation, the one question that kept returning to me in different forms was: Are consumers still searching for information, or are they increasingly looking for guidance? I was on a panel discussion with Atul Monga, CEO of BASIC Home Loan, and Utkarsh Yadav, CEO of KhiladiPro. And one of the key points during the discussion was that consumers are no longer satisfied with answers. They want help making choices.

From links to judgement calls

Traditional search worked well for discovery. It gave us options, comparisons, directories, and reviews. But the responsibility of interpretation always sat with the consumer. AI changes that balance.

In high-involvement categories like home loans, I believe that discovery is only the first step. Buying a home shapes financial decisions for decades. 

It affects savings, education plans, and lifestyle trade-offs. The consumers I speak with today are not just asking what is available. They are asking what is right for them.

AI enables that shift. Instead of navigating multiple websites and running separate calculators, people can now ask layered, nuanced questions in one place. 

How much can I realistically borrow? What compromises will this force later? What does this decision mean five or ten years down the line?

During the discussion, Atul pointed out that AI has compressed the whole journey. Discovery and decision-making begin to merge. Search doesn’t disappear, but it becomes embedded within conversation and context.

Authority will beat rankings

I see an even sharper shift in sports as well. Athletes are no longer satisfied with lists of academies or online reviews. They want clarity on progress, injury risk, and long-term development. Their questions are rooted in judgement, not just information.

In the panel discussion, Utkarsh spoke about this transition very clearly. Consumers are moving away from broad information toward authoritative advice. 

Platforms that combine data with deep domain understanding are starting to replace forums, directories, and even traditional word of mouth.

To me, this has profound implications for brands. When AI systems begin influencing recommendations directly, visibility alone will not be enough. 

Trust, credibility, and real expertise will matter far more than keyword rankings. I believe brands that feed AI systems with authentic knowledge and lived insight will surface more consistently than those optimised purely for discovery.

Marketing will not disappear, but it will sharpen

There is a tendency to assume that AI will completely disrupt marketing channels. I don’t see it that way. In the near term, the mix may remain broadly similar. What is changing is the logic behind decisions.

Take offline marketing. I believe it will continue to matter. But instead of relying purely on instinct or past experience, AI can help marketers identify where ideal consumers are most receptive, using behavioural and geographic signals. The spend may stay the same, but the precision improves.

Digital marketing is also evolving. It is moving away from broad demographic targeting toward intent. When consumers articulate their needs conversationally, their motivations become clearer than any proxy data ever allowed. 

According to McKinsey & Company over 70% of consumers expect interactions that feel personalised and context-aware, and disengage when communication feels generic. I see this playing out across categories.

The trust paradox of AI advertising

For me, the most complex challenge ahead is monetisation. As AI platforms experiment with advertising models, the line between advice and influence becomes fragile. The moment consumers sense that guidance is commercially motivated, trust erodes.

This puts the responsibility back on brands. The Boston Consulting Group has consistently shown that trust-led brands outperform peers in long-term value creation, especially in categories involving financial, health, or education decisions. In an AI-driven discovery ecosystem, shortcuts will be easier to spot and harder to sustain.

A human truth in an AI world

I don’t see the future of consumer discovery as a choice between Google and AI. I see it as a shift in how humans make decisions when intelligence becomes conversational.

Consumers will still look for reassurance. They will still value human judgement. What is changing is the path to confidence. I don’t believe AI is replacing people in decision-making. It is reshaping how belief is built.

The more AI becomes the first place consumers turn for advice, the more brands will be tested on something far older than technology: credibility.

For me, the real question is not whether search is waning. It’s whether we, as brands and builders, are merely optimising for algorithms, or genuinely earning human belief.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication)