In short
- AI search is used by 50% of consumers and is the primary source for purchase decisions for 44% of them (McKinsey, 2025).
- Traditional search volume is expected to drop 25% by 2026 (Gartner, 2024).
- ChatGPT: 900M weekly active users; Gemini: 750M monthly active users.
- Only 16% of brands systematically track their performance in AI answers.
- I founded Bubbling to measure and influence brand selection inside AI answers.
Why I created Bubbling
I spent over 25 years on one question: how decisions are made — and when influence actually happens.
I started in a major automotive group, then spent 17 years at Google and Meta across France, EMEA and the US, before a French AI scale-up. I witnessed two major shifts: the collapse of purchase funnels and the rise of digital platforms. But what is happening today with AI is a deeper rupture still.
The moment I understood
When LLMs emerged, I noticed something simple: people stopped searching, they started asking. The decision was already made inside the answer. Before any click, before any site visit, before any interaction with a brand.
The data confirms it. 50% of consumers now intentionally use AI search engines, and 44% make it their primary source (McKinsey, 2025).
What I built with Bubbling
I founded Bubbling to solve one precise problem: understand when and why a brand is chosen — or ignored — inside AI-generated answers. GEO is SEO for LLMs.
- Unit of analysis → from prompts to entire conversations.
- Starting point → from keywords to real personas.
- Goal → from visibility to selection.
FAQ
What is AI-mediated decision-making?
It is the process by which LLMs synthesize information and produce recommendations before users visit a website. The decision forms inside the AI answer.
What is GEO?
GEO is SEO for LLMs: measuring and optimizing how a brand appears in AI-generated answers across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity.
Why are most brands not prepared?
Only 16% of brands systematically track AI search performance. Most still optimize for traditional search metrics that don't reflect how AI selects and recommends brands.