Navigating the New Search Frontier: A Brand's Guide to Thriving in 2025 and Beyond

Media Minute is WPP Media's series, specifically crafted to empower our clients and marketers for their intelligence era.

Search isn’t what it used to be. Every day, 15% of daily searches on Google have never been searched before. Complex queries (5 words or more) are growing at three times the rate of simple ones (Google, Q4 2024). Search is expanding beyond keywords into video, social, voice, and image queries. The question is no longer “How do we rank on Google?” — it’s “How do we stay visible and relevant everywhere consumers search?” 

The Shifting Sands: Trends Redefining Brand Visibility  

Today, the rules of Search are being rewritten – and brands are feeling the impact.  

• Rising CPCs (Cost Per Clicks), making every ad dollar work harder. This often leads to typical client questions like, "CPCs are going up. Is Google search dying?"  

• There's a real sense of concern, especially with 60% of searches now ending without a click – a significant "zero-click" phenomenon.  This means consumers are getting their answers directly from the search results page, often thanks to the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs). 

• And speaking of LLMs, they're not just changing how information is consumed; they're becoming a new distribution channel. From June 2024 to June 2025, "Seeking Information" usage grew to 24% of all ChatGPT activity, leading to brands to ask questions such as, "My total search traffic is declining. What is the impact of LLMs on Search and how do I get ahead of the curve?"  This means brand preference can be built or eroded without a consumer ever landing on a brand's owned property.  

• Add to that the rise of agentic shopping – where AI makes purchasing decisions for consumers, makes winning customer loyalty — and algorithms — more critical than ever. Retail clients are expressing concerns like, "Agentic shopping is looming," and "We're missing a search opportunity and fear being left behind." 

Search isn't just a keyword query anymore; it has permeated video, social, and expanded with large volumes of voice and image (lens) queries. Every touchpoint is becoming shoppable, and the traditional marketing funnel is flattening out.  

A Performance-first Plan For Growth 

So, how do brands navigate this exciting, albeit complex, new frontier? The answer lies in a performance-driven plan that embraces these changes and leverages cutting-edge technology.  

It's about connecting consumer questions to brand answers, no matter where those questions are being asked. 

This approach builds on existing platform AI capabilities and develops new, smart solutions. It involves a holistic strategy that moves beyond traditional search and into the realm of "Total Search." This means looking at everything from how LLMs are influencing brand discoverability to optimizing for agentic commerce. 

Total Search: A New Playbook For The AI Era  

Consider a home goods retailer experiencing a decline in direct website traffic, despite consistent ad spend. Their challenge extends beyond rising ad costs; it's rooted in the surge of "zero-click searches" and AI-powered shopping assistants. Customers can now find product information and make purchases directly within search results or via voice, often bypassing the brand's own site. Brand preference must therefore be cultivated where the customer is engaged.  

Total Search audits the retailer's search presence across all touchpoints – including web, visual, and AI assistant queries. It discovers that potential customers are asking AI about "durable, pet-friendly furniture" or "eco-conscious kitchen gadgets." The brand's current content is often not optimized for these nuanced queries.  

Next, it enables adaptation, and enhances product listings, and feeds with rich, AI-friendly descriptions highlighting attributes like durability and sustainability. This ensures favorable surfacing by AI assistants and in search snippets. Monitor not just clicks, but also brand mentions and AI-driven recommendations, demonstrating growth in this evolving ecosystem. Gain visibility, build preferences in new channels, and boost sales by meeting customers precisely where they are searching. 

The Benefits of Total Search for Brands 

• Future-Proofing Your Brand: Optimize for LLM favorability and navigate the nuances of agentic commerce. Build brand preference in emerging distribution channels — from AI assistants to instant checkout features. This ensures a brand stays relevant and discoverable, even as search evolves. An opportunity to define your brand’s future amdist rapid evolution, like Open AI’s Instant Checkout, announced on September 29, 2025. 

• Unlocking Hidden Opportunities: Go beyond traditional search insights.  Identify content gaps, track consumer sentiment, and spot emerging trends before competitors do. Use these insights as a compass to guide your marketing strategy through uncharted territory. 

• Driving Efficiency and Maximize ROI: Turn low-yield paid media into high-margin blended campaigns. Transparent, actionable insights enable smarter resource allocation — making every marketing dollar work harder and smarter. 

• Seamless Integration and Scalability: Built for automation, scalability, and cross-channel integration; audit, implement, and optimize product feeds, leveraging Google Cloud, Big Query, ML, and AI to maximize results. Reduce manual work, increase impact, and ensure your brand is always on in every search environment. 

The Total Search approach is building the bridge between where search is today and where it's heading tomorrow. It's about empowering brands to connect with consumers in more meaningful, efficient, and ultimately, more profitable ways.  

The future of search is here, and WPP Media is ready to help brands lead the way.