Michael Epps Utley {kind=image/jpg}
Recent reports highlight three major shifts in the digital marketing landscape: Microsoft is going all-in on its own AI models, beauty brands are embracing Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and new data reveals just how fragmented AI-powered search has become.
Microsoft Moves Beyond OpenAI With In-House Models
According to The Verge’s Emma Roth, Microsoft has introduced its first internally developed AI models: MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-1-preview.
MAI-Voice-1, which can generate a minute of speech in under a second using just one GPU. It’s already embedded into Microsoft tools like Copilot Daily, making everyday AI interactions smoother and faster.
MAI-1-preview, which is trained on a massive 15,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, is being tested as a more consumer-focused AI assistant.
This move marks a strategic shift for Microsoft as it looks to reduce its reliance on OpenAI. Instead, the company is leveraging its own consumer data ecosystem and developing specialized models to cater to diverse user needs.
Beauty Brands Turn to GEO: The New SEO
Meanwhile, Liz Flora at Business of Fashion reports that Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is quickly becoming the next big marketing priority for beauty brands.
Why? Because consumers are increasingly turning to AI-powered recommendations—through platforms like ChatGPT—for product advice instead of traditional search engines.
To improve visibility in these new discovery channels, brands are focusing on building credibility through reputable mentions in media outlets and peer-reviewed studies, and leveraging platforms like Reddit and YouTube where consumer conversations and reviews drive AI-generated responses. For beauty brands, GEO is now what SEO was a decade ago—a fundamental strategy for ensuring products get surfaced in the right AI-powered contexts.
AI-Powered Search: A Fragmented Landscape
Adding to the complexity, Danny Goodwin at Search Engine Land highlights new findings from BrightEdge showing that Google’s AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, and ChatGPT rarely agree on brand recommendations.
Key findings include:
Only 17% of queries produced the same brand recommendations across all three platforms.
Google AI Overviews surfaced brands in 36.8% of cases—far more than ChatGPT (3.9%) or AI Mode.
Google also displayed a much higher citation density, making its recommendations appear more credible.
For marketers, this fragmentation poses a real challenge: ensuring consistent visibility across multiple AI-driven environments. It also underscores the need for strategies like GEO that strengthen a brand’s presence wherever consumers might encounter it.
From Microsoft’s investment in proprietary AI, to beauty brands embracing GEO, to the fragmented reality of AI-powered search—one thing is clear: AI is redefining the way products, services, and brands are discovered. Businesses that adapt quickly to this shifting landscape will be best positioned to capture attention in an AI-first world
