Seen in AI Search: How Cetaphil adapted to changing customer behaviour

Ask ChatGPT | Perplexity | Claude | Google AI Mode to summarise and analyse this (long-ish…) post.

TL;DR: Shoppers, especially Gen Z, aren’t just scrolling online anymore; they’re asking ChatGPT what to buy while standing in the aisle. Cetaphil spotted this shift and reworked its strategy to stay visible in AI answers. By boosting forum mentions, building trust through credible publications, and editing product descriptions for AI clarity, they turned generative search into an in-store sales tool.

The line between the digital world and the real world is only getting blurrier. We aren’t quite in The Matrix… yet! Unless…

What this means for businesses is that we can’t treat online sales and in-store sales as completely separate things. Even when the purchase is made in-store, there’s usually a digital trail leading up to that decision. And now AI has entered that trail in a big way.

Experts say around 80% of consumers rely on AI-written summaries for at least 40% of their searches. That means customers aren’t just reading reviews and comparison blogs anymore; they’re trusting AI to condense the information and guide them to a purchase. Furthermore, AI is proving particularly useful for in-store shoppers, especially those who fall into the demographic of Generation Z. Young people leading the way and all that!

Here’s what’s changing for in-store shoppers and how one skincare company has responded to not only improve their AI visibility but also their overall sales. 

How AI affects in-store sales

The digitalisation of the shopping experience is old news. We talked about that when the likes of Google and Amazon completely transformed the shopping experience. For the first time,  customers were one click away from finding and buying anything and everything. 

AI has entered the chat when it comes to helping customers find and buy products. We can ask AI assistants for specific recommendations, and they’ll come up with a neat little list for us to choose from. 

In that way, it’s even more convenient than Google. Instead of having to read through endless comments on review sites and lengthy comparison articles, AI summarises all the key information for us. 

This has triggered a shift in customer behaviour. Young customers are now going into stores and researching the products they see on the shelves on AI to help them make a purchase decision. So, right now, chatbots could be scouring your online content to give summarised debriefs on your products, tipping the scale towards ‘buy me’ or ‘leave me on the shelf’.

Cetaphil’s new marketing strategy to get seen in AI search and purchased in-store

Cetaphil has picked up on this new way to appeal to Generation Z and responded accordingly. Tara Loftis, global president of skincare at Galderma and global head of Cetaphil, gave some behind-the-scenes insight into their generative AI optimisation efforts. 

Three main things stood out in their AI visibility strategy.

• Working on increasing their brand mentions on community forums. AI tools love to reference websites like Reddit or Quora when collating information, particularly opinions on a product or service. The more mentions and positive reviews you have, the better your credibility and AI-generated summary.
   

• Elevating their brand features by working with relevant and trusted publications on editorial content. It’s not enough to just get backlinks. That’s so 2013 SEO! AI-powered search engines want rich, structured content that answers questions and is found (predominantly, but not always) on trusted sources. 
  
  

• Editing their product descriptions. If you’re in the skincare aisle of a supermarket, comparing products, the first thing you’ll ask ChatGPT is what the product does and what it’s good for. So, one of the main pieces of content AI will use to generate answers about the product is what the brand says about it on its website. To make sure it packs a punch when filtered through AI systems, it’s worth making a few changes. Let’s dig a little deeper into that…

3 steps to optimise product descriptions for AI search

This is where one of my favourite parts comes in: good copywriting. Product descriptions are a nifty bit of copy that succinctly summarise what the product is, so a customer can tell whether it’s what they’re looking for. 

Now, where this product description exists has a big impact on how you approach writing it. 

If it’s on the product packaging, you’ve got to think more about making sure it stands out on the shelves and grabs the attention of busy shoppers. 

Online, you have to factor in technical algorithms. There’s a certain way to appeal to AI tools as they research your products to generate answers. 

Follow these three steps to review your product descriptions for AI visibility. 

• Use direct language. We like to fluff things up to grab attention and create an experience for our human readers. But the fluff can confuse AI tools. Direct language that clearly tells AI what your product is and does is much more useful. AI will better understand your product and weave the information into conversational answers for its users. 
  
  

• Cover queries. Researching a product through AI is often a back-and-forth. People will ask for product recommendations and then ask follow-up questions about the options they are interested in such as price and specifications. Often, AI assistants will offer to provide more information to keep the interaction going. Make sure the information customers are looking for is ready and waiting in your product description. 
  
  

• Give it a logical structure. AI is looking to extract and categorise key information from the content it reads. For example, the size of the products and the ingredients. This is called machine parsing. Giving your description a clear and logical structure, focusing on short paragraphs and bullet points, will help AI take what it needs and summarise it.  

Cetaphil has mentioned doing all three of these things to help AI sell its products to its users. They don’t need to fluff up “soothes sensitive skin,” but it would help to mention it’s good for acne, in case that’s included in a search query. Starting with a clear one-line description is a great quote for AI to use. For more guidance on how to write for AI visibility, check out these templates.

The ROI on AEO: Why adapt your marketing strategy for AI?

In her interview, Tara shares that they’re doing a review of the online presence of all their brands, not just Cetaphil. AI has changed the game. We can either change with it or risk being left behind. Check whether you are getting left behind with the Decipher Brand Visibility Score.

Even if you’re an already established business with a strong customer base, overlooking AEO means risking…

• Losing customers to competitors. If AI is able to summarise their products better, it’ll be hard for customers to choose you over them. 
  
  

• Poor UX. If AI struggles to identify and summarise information about your products, customers might not find the information they need when they need it, stalling the buyer journey. 
  
  

• Losing visibility. Your products might not come up as recommended by AI tools, meaning you don’t even get the chance to get in front of new customers. 
  
  

• Getting hit on the online and in-person front. This isn’t just about online sales. It can affect in-person sales too. Some customers research products before going in-store or even in the shop as they browse the aisles. We have to take a holistic approach now. 

AI is continuing to blur the line between online and in-person. Forward-thinking businesses are using this as an opportunity for growth and sales. Wherever your customers are, will AI sing your praises or leave them unconvinced about your products? There are steps you can take to make sure it’s the former. 

For support in coming up with your own AI search strategy, talk to us at decipher. We have taken copywriting into the age of AI, writing in a way that impresses humans and robots at the same time. 

Seen in AI Search is a series by decipher. the leading UAE and UK-based AI search optimisation agency helping brands get seen, understood, and chosen by both AI tools and real people.