What AI really prefers: long-term brand building
Visibility in LLMs is driven not by short-term tactics but by brand equity built over years.
Translated from the original Turkish. Türkçe oku →
In brief
- According to WARC and Charlie Oscar research, 63% of brand visibility in large language models is driven by long-term brand equity.
- Current marketing spend accounts for 22%, and citation volume from AI-SEO tactics for only 11%.
- Consistent, distinctive brand assets shape the preferences of both consumers and AI algorithms.
After years of the marketing ecosystem holding its breath while talking about AI, Cannes Lions 2026 brought the conversation onto more rational ground: AI is no longer a trend, it is the new “infrastructure” shaping the consumer decision journey. As assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini step in between consumers and brands, the real question becomes clear: how do we make our brand visible in this new search ecosystem?
11% tactics versus a 63% reality
The latest research published by WARC with Charlie Oscar answers this question very clearly. The single biggest factor determining a brand’s visibility in large language models (LLMs) is long-term brand equity, at 63%.
By contrast, current marketing spend accounts for 22%, while citation volume generated through new AI-SEO tactics accounts for just 11%. In other words, algorithms don’t reward short-term tactics inflated after the fact; they reward the organic authority, reputation and consistency a brand has built over years.
A timely warning from Cannes 2026
Two core concepts highlighted by Byron Sharp and Mark Ritson, who shared the stage at Cannes 2026, confirm this: mental availability and distinctive brand assets.
Marketers tend to get bored of their own communication quickly and keep looking for change. Yet what both consumers and the AI crawling the internet need are clear, consistent and constantly repeated brand symbols (logo, colour, sound, voice). As Byron Sharp stressed, executives must keep using their brand codes even when they are tired of them. AI can produce ordinary, generic content in seconds; but it can only recognise and elevate original brand identities that have been built consistently over years.
From visibility to preference
Tactical approaches focused solely on optimising the 11% of citation volume risk overshadowing the potential of core brand building, which makes up 63% of visibility. In the age of AI, sustainable growth comes not from short-term moves but from a strong brand architecture woven over time. Brands that consistently nurture their mental availability, keep their voice coherent and invest in distinctive assets will remain the first choice not only of consumers, but also of the AI algorithms that run decision-making.
