From Search to Social to AI: How Consumers Discover Brands Today

The digital customer journey has changed a lot over the past few years. It used to be fairly tidy: search, click, then purchase. Now? It’s fragmented into something more complex.

For businesses and marketers, understanding the shift is critical. It may spell the difference between an enterprise that stays afloat and one that sinks.

The Digital Customer Journey, Made Non-Linear

Today’s path to purchase very rarely runs in a straight line. Your next customer might first see your cafe on TikTok, look you up on Google, check out your reviews online, and then ask ChatGPT more questions… and that’s all before even stepping through your door!

Different customers can take completely different routes, even to the same purchase. The same person can also behave differently depending on the product they want.

This isn’t an announcement of the death of the traditional marketing funnel (awareness → consideration → conversion). That still exists, but the paths people take through it have become more winding and less predictable.

Where Consumers Discover, Research and Validate Brands Today

1. Search Engines

Search engines are still the dominant tool for intent-driven research. This is when someone already knows what they want and wants to compare options.

Google reviews and other online reviews play a significant role here. About 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses before visiting. 41% say they “always” read them.

2. Social Media

Social platforms tend to be where brand awareness begins for a lot of people now. Social ads are among the most common sources of brand discovery today, behind only search engines and word of mouth.

The platforms have expanded as well. Where it seemed to be all about Facebook and Instagram before, we now have a range of platforms like Xiaohongshu, TikTok and YouTube. TikTok reaches 75.4% of Singaporean adults today, with local users spending an average of 34 hours per month on it!

3. Reviews and Online Communities

Reviews and online communities form the trust layer. Google reviews, Reddit, Chope, and even WhatsApp group recommendations all serve one purpose: they answer “Can I trust this brand?”

User-generated content or UGC is critical in building a brand’s image today, and it includes authentic reviews and testimonials from real customers. It can have a significant influence on your own audience.

4. AI Search and Citations

Perhaps the most significant recent change in consumer behaviour online has to do with the rise of AI-powered search tools. Platforms like ChatGPT and even Google’s own AI Overviews synthesise information from multiple sources and answer questions directly.

AI citations are the brand mentions and source references these tools show in their responses. If a consumer asks ChatGPT about the best HR software for an SEM in Singapore, the AI recommends specific brands based on sources it has indexed.

And if your business isn’t mentioned in those sources, you won’t appear in the answer.

Singapore has one of the highest AI adoption rates worldwide, at 53%. Many buyers here now begin their research in an AI chatbot instead of a search engine. 

This creates another layer of discovery and consideration beyond traditional search, and it’s a layer many of local businesses haven’t accounted for fully in their marketing strategy.

Different Channels Serve Different Parts of the Customer Journey

Rather than treating platforms as competing channels, it helps to see each serving a distinct role.

• Discovery - TikTok, Instagram, Xiaohongshu, YouTube, and word of mouth. Content here is designed to be engaging and shareable, not sales-heavy.

• Research - Google search, your website, LinkedIn, and AI tools. FAQs, case studies, and authoritative content also live here.

• Validation - Google reviews, Reddit, testimonials, and any other place where people can find authentic opinions or reviews for brands.

• Conversion - Google Maps for walk-ins, e-commerce websites, TikTok Shop, and retargeting ads. 

What This Means for SMEs

The answer isn't to suddenly have a presence on every digital platform. Businesses should identify where their target audience is most likely to discover, research, and validate businesses in their category.

F&B businesses often rely on Google Maps, Instagram, and Chope. B2B businesses often use Google, LinkedIn, and AI tools. Ecommerce brands may rely heavily on social discovery at the top, search and reviews in the middle, and easy checkout at the bottom.

For a business with limited resources, the priority is to identify where your customers discover, research, and validate businesses in your category. Invest deliberately in those touchpoints instead of spreading resources thin across everything.

Marketing channels shouldn’t operate in isolation either. You have to think about how one channel can move your consumer towards the next stage. 

It might go: discovery via social search → Google search → website → retargeting → conversion. Or it might take a different path. Whatever the flow, keep your messaging and brand positioning consistent to avoid confusing consumers.

At the same time, craft the content to suit the stage. It’s best to tailor content for different stages of the journey rather than making every piece of content purely sales-focused. 

Otherwise, you’ll waste effort by trying the wrong thing at the wrong time, e.g. trying to sell to people who aren’t ready to buy yet.

How SMEs Can Adapt to the New Digital Customer Journey

1. Map how your customers actually find you.

Look behind plain website analytics! Include search data, social analytics, reviews, and direct customer conversations. 

A good tip here is to try to find a consistent pattern of branded searches. It can be a sign that awareness is being built elsewhere.

2. Create content for different stages.

We already said this before, but it bears repeating. Don’t create content with the intention of having it cover every stage. Think about it in phases. 

Build awareness with short-form video, answer research questions with blog posts, and support conversion with clear calls-to-action (CTAs). Don’t neglect a single stage.

3. Build discoverability beyond your website.

Keep active profiles on the platforms your audience uses. Respond to reviews. Make sure your business info is accurate across as many platforms as possible.

Consistent brand signals across the Web also improve how AI tools represent you. It’s a growing part of early-stage discovery worth investing in.

4. Measure the wider journey, not just the last-click conversions.

A TikTok video that doesn’t directly generate sales may still be driving the branded Google searches that do. Every channel that builds awareness or trust contributes to the final conversion, even when analytics don’t credit it. 

The New Customer Journey Isn't About Being Everywhere

This is the key point to understand: you don’t need to chase every new platform. You need to prioritise. 

How do your specific customers discover, research, and validate businesses like yours? How do you ensure they get useful and credible information each time they encounter your brand?

Find the channels your customers use most and get those right first. Build outward from there.

If you’d like help mapping your customer journey and identifying the touchpoints that matter most for your business, reach out to us at ROMI.SG for a chat!