Sonata Insights

Attending Shoptalk Fall? Be sure to catch Sonata Insights' founder and chief analyst Debra Aho Williamson on Friday, October 18, 11:20am - 12:05pm in the Radar Room when she moderates "Rapid-Fire Insights from Investors: Perspectives on the AI Landscape." Aron Bohlig of ComCap LLC, Scott Friend of Bain Capital Ventures, and Tessa Flippin of Capitalize VC will share: 👉🏻 unfiltered perspectives on the role of AI in retail technology 👉🏻 where AI is most likely to be a game-changer 👉🏻 how they evaluate AI claims and sort hype from reality Hope to see you there!

Check out the latest from Debra Aho Williamson Sonata Insights and Datos, A Semrush Company on WARC , a continuing discussion around Search and AI. Looking forward to our roundtable with Debra and Rand Fishkin SparkToro on Thursday, September 26th at 2 PM ET. Registration details below.

Consumer AI behaviors are a huge upcoming marketing opportunity.

The reports of Google Search's death have been greatly exaggerated. 21 Months ago, ChatGPT was touted as a search disruptor. Fast forward to today, according to Datos, A Semrush Company's latest report on consumer search behaviour - The disruption is yet to happen. Here's what the data reveals: 1.𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬: As of May 2024, Google's search volume is: • 4.5x Amazon's search volume • 25x Facebook's search volume • 290x Perplexity's search volume Google not only hegemonizes search volume but also leads in searches per user. 2. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 & 𝐀𝐈-𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨-𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭: 16.65% Of the cohort Datos studied uses LLM-based search models like ChatGPT, Claude, etc., alongside traditional search engines. Yet, there's been no significant drop in their Google search activity. 3. 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: Remember when a Google exec claimed that 40% of Gen Z started their search on TikTok?Datos' data doesn't quite agree. Only 10% of Tiktok's user base uses search on the platform. AI might be shaking things up, but Google's stranglehold on search is far from over. #search #marketing #social

Debra Aho Williamson writes about how AI is changing consumer behavior and the marketing strategies businesses rely on. https://lnkd.in/dSvJCpAX

If my video about consumer AI search behaviors struck a chord with you last week*, then you should hear the whole dang symphony. Please join me, Datos, A Semrush Company’s Eli Goodman and SparkToro ‘s Rand Fishkin on September 26th when we'll answer YOUR questions about the state of consumer search behavior and what's really going on with AI search. ➡️ Sept 26th, 11am PT / 2pm ET / 8pm CEST ➡️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/gBEPAYsq What we’ll cover: — The key findings from our latest white paper and Rand’s insightful blog. — The shifts in the AI search landscape since the white paper’s release. — Our perspectives on the evolving trends in consumer search behavior — Live Q&A *the video I posted last week is up to 6.5 million impressions and 450K video views and counting! Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gnmmBvKR

What makes Sonata Insights different? How are average US consumers using AI search? When will we see more ads in AI experiences? Thank you Joe Mandese and MediaPost for the chance to share more about my research! Fun fact: In my first job out of college I copy edited some of Joe's articles for Advertising Age. Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/gG4Bpbke

Proud and excited to share Sonata Insights' latest research collaboration! This report identifies 6 APAC digital marketing and behavioral trends that will impact the US marketing landscape - and not surprisingly, several are AI-related. 🛍 Here's a sneak peek at one of the most compelling trends: How super app partnerships are fueling social commerce. The backstory: Last year, TikTok rescued its struggling social commerce business in Indonesia by taking a stake in Tokopedia, one of Indonesia's largest ecommerce/super app players. The trend: The partnership provides a roadmap for how social platforms can work with ecommerce companies to create better shopping experiences. The evidence: Meta has already partnered with Amazon, and in the report, we predicted that TikTok would also partner with a major ecommerce company like Amazon. A few weeks later, that's exactly what happened. What it means for marketers: TikTok Shop's rapid growth—and its expansion into selling services—signals an impending shift, with Asian-style super app features poised to grow on US digital platforms. The question will be whether tech giants can overcome the regulatory and cultural hurdles they've faced in the past. Here are 5 more APAC trends that we identified in the report. 1️⃣ Mobile micro-dramas capture massive video audiences. 2️⃣ Avatars dominate next-gen social. 3️⃣ Gen AI boosts localization output. 4️⃣ AI agents make shopping more seamless. 5️⃣ AI influencers garner big partnerships. Big thanks to our research partners Matt Maher and Jessica Merrell at M7 Innovations for the chance to brainstorm with you and for the amazing design work! Head to the comments for a link to download the full report.

Welcome new followers! The coverage and conversation surrounding my inaugural co-branded research with Datos, A Semrush Company has been astounding. Be sure to download your copy of the free white paper here: https://lnkd.in/ejE7qWCa I've got a ton of exciting new research coming in the next two months. Whether you're following Sonata Insights for my social media analysis or my growing portfolio of research on AI and marketing, I've got you covered: 🇨🇳 Which APAC digital behaviors will cause the biggest changes in US marketing strategies? 🤖 How are marketers implementing AI for creative production and optimization? 🛒 Where do retail media and creator marketing intersect—and what are the opportunities? 📺 How do consumers feel about AI-created advertising? And be sure to catch me (aka chief analyst Debra Aho Williamson) on-stage this fall at Shoptalk Chicago, Ascendant Network's Ascendant10 and RMN Boot Camp, as well as AMA Puget Sound! ******* Hi, I'm Debra Aho Williamson - founder and chief analyst at Sonata Insights. DM me to join WARC, Datos, M7 Innovations, Ascendant Network and others on my growing client roster. You'll get exclusive access to Sonata Insights' research and thought leadership offerings that will help you achieve -- and surpass -- your marketing goals. 

NEW research: https://lnkd.in/guv-hZ7U — Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, CoPilot... If your LinkedIn feed looks anything like mine, you could be forgiven for thinking that these AI tools must be hurting Google's market share, or at least the number of searches each month. That's why I'm deeply grateful there's new research from Datos, A Semrush Company and Sonata Insights showing exactly how, where, and whether Google's being disrupted by AI search. The most telling data point to me? 99% of AI search users still use Google just as much as before 🤯🤔