Traditional search is dead, AI discovery is the new frontier: Udit Malhotra, MG Motor

Udit Malhotra, Head of Marketing at MG Motor India, in his first LinkedIn article outlined how artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering the way consumers discover, evaluate and purchase vehicles, signaling the end of traditional search as we know it. 

Malhotra notes that until recently, like most internet users, he relied heavily on conventional search engines for information. But with the rise of AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, his approach to finding answers has dramatically changed. While the nature of his queries remains the same, the quality, context and relevance of AI-generated responses have far exceeded those offered by traditional search results. What began as a personal insight, he argues, is fast becoming a global trend with deep implications for brand marketing.

The data, he says, is both compelling and urgent. As of 2024, zero-click searches, where users get their answers directly from the search results page, account for 65 percent of global queries, rising to over 75 percent on mobile devices. Google’s SERP features, such as snippets, knowledge panels and People Also Ask, now dominate the real estate that once belonged to brand websites. With featured snippets alone appearing in 20 percent of all searches, visibility has become a new battlefield and traditional click-throughs are rapidly declining.

This changing dynamic is clearly reflected in customer behavior. Sixty-three percent of consumers are now comfortable buying a car entirely online and 78 percent rely on third-party platforms for vehicle research, skipping over brand-owned channels altogether. Organic search traffic continues to plummet, with only 40 percent of users clicking on non-sponsored results. The old digital marketing funnel is being dismantled, piece by piece.

Malhotra also highlights the financial and structural implications of this transformation. The global automotive AI market, valued at USD 4.7 billion in 2025, is projected to surge to USD 48.6 billion by 2034, growing at a staggering CAGR of 29.6 percent. This is not merely a shift in technology, it’s a reordering of how value is created, accessed and delivered in the automotive industry. By 2027, digital business models are expected to drive 40 percent of industry profits.

Marketing strategies, too, are evolving at speed. AI-optimized campaigns are delivering engagement rates that outperform traditional methods by over 30 percent. In the awareness stage, AI-generated overviews increasingly serve as the customer’s first interaction with a brand. During the consideration phase, 76 percent of marketers are already using AI for content creation, reshaping how comparisons are made. At the decision stage, 37 percent of consumers say they would prefer interacting with AI agents rather than human representatives.

For Malhotra, this shift demands a bold reimagination of the marketer’s playbook. The goal is no longer to drive traffic to brand websites, it is to “own the answer” wherever the question is asked. Brands must now create structured, context-rich content optimized not just for human audiences but for AI engines that curate and deliver instant insights. Presence in AI-generated overviews and summaries, not just search rankings, is the new gold standard.

He emphasizes the need to rearchitect content strategies around user intent, expand visibility across emerging AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity and deploy predictive analytics to detect consumer needs before they are even voiced. In this new world, success will be measured not by clicks, but by visibility, relevance and authority in AI-mediated ecosystems.

Looking toward 2027, Malhotra predicts that AI-powered research will drive 50 percent of all initial vehicle discovery. Traditional automotive search traffic could fall by as much as 35 percent, while zero-click searches are expected to cross the 70 percent mark. The implications are clear: the very foundation of how automotive brands engage consumers is undergoing a seismic shift.

Malhotra concludes with a warning and a call to action. Brands that continue to cling to outdated digital strategies risk fading into irrelevance. Those that move quickly to embed AI as a core strategic pillar, not just a tech add-on, will be the ones best positioned to thrive in this new era of intelligent discovery.