The Six AI Search Archetypes Killing Your SEO Strategy
PLUS: How to audit your chatbot's emotional intelligence and discover hidden revenue blockers
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🗓️ August 1, 2025 ⏱️ Read Time: ~5 minutes
👋 Welcome
Here's what nobody tells you about customer discovery: it's not just changing—it's fragmenting. While you're optimizing for Google, 75% of your customers are using AI search tools, and they're not all searching the same way. Meanwhile, 87% of CX leaders are calling generative AI essential, but 86% of customers still prefer humans over chatbots. The paradox? Your youngest customers are both the most optimistic about service improvements and the least forgiving when you mess up.
📡 Signal in the Noise
This week's research reveals the brutal complexity of modern customer expectations. AI search has gone mainstream with six distinct customer archetypes, generational service expectations are diverging dramatically, and enterprise platforms are racing to deploy autonomous AI agents. The thread connecting it all? The companies that understand these behavioral shifts are building unassailable competitive advantages.
🧠 Executive Lens
The uncomfortable reality is that your customer discovery strategy is probably based on assumptions that died sometime last year. When 24% of Gen Z customers won't give you a second chance and customer search spans six different behavioral patterns across multiple platforms, your old playbook isn't just outdated—it's actively costing you customers to competitors who figured this out first.
📰 Stories That Matter
🔍 Yext research reveals six distinct AI search archetypes reshaping customer discovery
Think your customers all search the same way? Think again. New research across four countries shows 75% of people now use AI search tools more than they did last year, but they're not all doing it the same way. There's the Creator who uses AI for brainstorming, the Explorer who goes deep on research, and the Social Proof Seeker who won't buy without reviews. Each archetype expects brands to meet them where they are—not where it's convenient for you.
Why This Matters: Customer discovery has exploded across AI tools, traditional search, and social platforms, which means your old SEO playbook just became obsolete.
Try This: Map your customer touchpoints against these six archetypes and be honest about which search behaviors your brand completely ignores.
Source: Yext
📊 CallMiner research reveals 87% of CX leaders say generative AI is key for their teams
Here's the stat that should wake up every CX executive: 87% of your peers now consider generative AI essential, and 91% believe it'll optimize their customer experience strategies. But here's the kicker—the research shows that companies obsessing over "shiny object syndrome" with advanced AI are missing out. The winners? They're starting with basic applications and building from there.
Why This Matters: AI in customer experience just crossed the threshold from experimental to mission-critical, which means hesitation is now a strategic risk.
Try This: Stop overthinking and identify three basic, high-volume interactions where AI could help your team today—not six months from now.
Source: CallMiner
🛠️ Fractal launches Cogentiq platform for enterprise agentic AI deployment
While most companies are still teaching chatbots to follow scripts, Fractal just launched something that thinks for itself. Their Cogentiq platform deploys AI agents that don't just respond—they actively think, plan, and execute business scenarios. Early deployments in healthcare and insurance are already showing measurable ROI, proving this isn't just another AI demo.
Why This Matters: Enterprise platforms are making autonomous intelligence accessible without custom development, which levels the playing field for companies that couldn't build this stuff in-house.
Try This: Stop thinking about what AI can't do and identify your three most workflow-heavy processes where intelligent agents could outperform humans.
Source: Fractal
📞 GoDaddy survey exposes the brutal truth about generational customer service expectations
Here's the wake-up call every CX leader needs: 42% of consumers think customer service is getting worse, but the generational divide is stark. While Gen Z (29%) and Millennials (31%) see improvement, only 12% of Gen X and Boomers agree. The kicker? 86% still prefer humans over chatbots, and 24% of Gen Z won't give you a second chance after screwing up once.
Why This Matters: You're not just managing customer expectations—you're managing completely different expectation frameworks across generations, and the most unforgiving customers are also your future.
Try This: Audit your customer service approach by generation and ask yourself: are you optimizing for the patient Boomers or the one-strike-you're-out Gen Z customers?
Source: StockTitan
🏦 IBM outlines six AI trends reshaping customer service by 2026
IBM's research team just laid out the roadmap for where customer service is heading, and spoiler alert: it's not more humans answering phones. They're tracking everything from agentic AI systems that work independently to hyper-personalized experiences that adapt in real-time. The shift? Moving from reactive "fix it when it breaks" to predictive "solve it before they notice."
Why This Matters: Customer service is fundamentally restructuring from human-first to AI-first operations, and if you're not planning for that transition, you're planning to fall behind.
Try This: Map your current service operations against these six trends and honestly assess where competitors using advanced AI could leave you in the dust.
Source: IBM
✍️ Prompt of the Day
Title: AI Emotional Damage Audit
Analyze this customer conversation transcript: [paste conversation]
Evaluate the AI's emotional intelligence failures:
1. Moments where the AI misread customer emotional state
2. Responses that likely increased customer frustration
3. Missed opportunities for empathy or de-escalation
4. Language that feels robotic or dismissive
5. Points where emotional context was lost between interactions
For each failure, provide:
- Specific emotional damage score (1-10)
- Alternative response that addresses emotional needs
- Root cause analysis of why the AI failed
- Training data implications for improvement
Calculate overall "Emotional IQ Debt"—the cumulative emotional damage your AI inflicts on customer relationships.
What this uncovers: Hidden relationship costs of poorly calibrated AI interactions
How to apply it: Regular emotional intelligence audits prevent AI from accidentally alienating customers
Where to test: Focus on escalated conversations and high-value customer interactions first
🛠️ Try This Prompt
You're a CX competitive intelligence analyst. Our biggest competitor just deployed agentic AI for customer service.
Analyze the competitive threat:
1. What customer experience advantages do they now have over us?
2. Which of our current service limitations are suddenly exposed?
3. How might customers compare our human-dependent processes to their AI-autonomous ones?
4. What customer expectations will shift as their AI becomes the new normal?
5. Which of our customer segments are most at risk of defection?
For each threat, provide:
- Immediate defensive strategies (next 30 days)
- Medium-term response plan (90 days)
- Long-term competitive repositioning (6 months)
- Budget requirements and ROI projections
- Success metrics to track competitive positioning
Include specific recommendations for turning our current AI limitations into temporary competitive messaging while we catch up.
Immediate use case: Transform competitive AI pressure into strategic clarity and action
Tactical benefit: Convert AI anxiety into structured competitive response planning
How to incorporate quickly: Use this analysis to build executive briefings and budget justifications for AI acceleration
📎 CX Note to Self
"Your customers won't tell you when AI gets good enough to replace you. They'll just start expecting it everywhere else first."
👋 See You Monday
That's today's update. The big picture? Customer expectations are splitting in six different directions, and the companies that figure this out first will leave everyone else behind. What's your move? Hit reply and let me know if you're seeing these shifts at your company or if you're still trying to convince people that this stuff matters. 👋
Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone who needs to wake up to what's happening.
Have an AI‑mazing day!
—Mark
💡 P.S. Want more prompts? Grab the FREE 32 Power Prompts That Will Change Your CX Strategy – Forever to start transforming your team, now.
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