How consumers discover, research, and make purchase decisions is no longer just about typing a few keywords into Google and clicking a link. Increasingly, people are using conversational AI search to ask complex, context-rich questions like:
- “Which are the best trail running shoes under £100 that are waterproof and good on rocky terrain?”
- “I’m looking for a laptop for video editing. It should have great battery life, be lightweight and easy to travel with, and cost no more than £1,500. Can you show me some good options?”
This shift has profound implications for how we design market segmentations — the foundational frameworks that underpin all of marketing strategy, from brand positioning to innovation pipelines to comms.
Why segmentation needs a rethink
One of the biggest challenges when creating a segmentation is deciding what to segment on. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses:
- Demographics (like age, income, and location) are great for media targeting but poor at explaining why people make different choices. Not every high-income 25–34-year-old in London has the same taste in trainers.
- Behaviours (like purchase habits and spend) are great for personalising content and offers to your customers, but again don’t explain the reasoning behind choices. I bought my phone for the camera, but someone else might have bought it for the battery life.
- Occasions (like time of day, who you’re with, and what else you’re doing) add useful context to the moment in which the decision is made, but don’t explain why people in the same situation might make very different decisions. Two people at the same bar at the same time, could still order very different drinks.
- Needs and attitudes go deeper. They reveal the “why” behind choices — the goals, constraints, and motivations that drive behaviour. Associate your brand with the needs that drive decision-making, and you’re much more likely to be chosen. The problem here is activation. Knowing someone is a “Comfort Seeker” or “Aspirational Sunseeker” is useful in theory, but hard to identify in the real world. People don’t walk around with their segment names tattooed on their foreheads.
Why AI search changes the game
AI search changes this equation in three big ways:
- Needs are made explicit.
In traditional search, functional search terms like “running trainers” reveal almost nothing about what someone is actually looking for. With AI search, consumers often spell out budget, context, goals, and even emotions in a single query. This bridges the gap between needs-based segmentation and activation. - The path to purchase is compressed.
Some consumers now just buy from what AI recommends, without worrying about browsing and comparing options. That means being recommended by AI is more important than ever. Miss the recommendation, and you may miss the sale altogether. - AI search queries become a new data source.
Mining conversational AI search queries (where accessible) offers a goldmine of data rich in needs and context in consumers’ own words. While not as detailed as traditional surveys or ethnography, it can highlight patterns in the way consumers make decisions at scale.
What brands should be doing right now
- Ensure needs sit at the heart of your segmentation.
Demographics and occasions still have a role to play, but AI search reinforces the importance of needs as a core lens in segmentations. Align your segmentation to how consumers articulate goals in AI searches. - Experiment with AI search in your category.
Ask questions like the examples at the top of this blog in your category. Which brands show up? Yours, or your competitors? Which needs are highlighted? Use this to spot opportunities or risks for your positioning. - Clearly communicate the needs your brand is aligned with
Once you’ve identified the greatest areas of opportunity for your brand with needs-based segmentation, make sure your brand content, reviews, and product data reflect these needs. AI models are reading this content, so help them to make sure it’s your brand they recommend.
Final thought
Things are moving quickly. We’re still working out what AI search means for marketing, while AI continues to change the game at dizzying pace. But one thing is clear: understanding the needs of consumers is more important than ever, and the potential reward for communicating your brand in a way that resonates with those needs is greater than ever.