I recently upgraded from a 5-year-old laptop to a new one. The upgrade itself is not the story. The way I bought it is.
This time, I never ran a single Google search.
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| Me working on my newly purchased laptop |
How I Used to Shop for Laptops in 2020
When I bought my previous laptop during COVID, the process was entirely self-directed:
- Googled "best laptops under MYR 4,000" and clicked through multiple review sites
- Opened multiple tabs across different websites to cross-compare specs
- Searched YouTube manually for reviews and benchmark videos of shortlisted models
- Manually mapped my needs against each model: battery life, processing power, weight, price
- Made the final call myself, after weeks of piecing information together
Every source handed me raw data. I did all the connecting work. The decision was entirely mine to wrestle with.
How I Shopped in 2026 (based on my actual purchase journey)
This time, I used Grok and had a single, evolving conversation. I had set a budget of around MYR 3,000 to MYR 3,500 with roughly MYR 100 to 200 flexibility either way, and I told it how I planned to use the machine: general productivity, light multitasking, portability.
Here is how the actual conversation went, in sequence:
- Processor comparison first. I took a picture of some laptop specs from a store of the laptops I was eyeing on. Fed it to Grok and it gave me a structured breakdown on performance, power efficiency, and which was better value for my use case, not just raw benchmarks.
- Adding more options. I then introduced additional models into the same conversation one by one. Rather than me building a spreadsheet, Grok folded each new option into an evolving comparison, ranking them by real-world performance for tasks like browsing, Office work, and light multitasking.
- Benchmarking against what I already had. I told Grok the specs of my current (older) laptop. It immediately placed my old machine in the context of all the options I was comparing, showing me exactly how large the performance gap would be and where I would actually feel it day to day.
- Evaluating a second-hand alternative. I also asked whether a second-hand business laptop with good RAM and storage was worth considering. Grok weighed it against the new options within my MYR budget range, factoring in resale value, battery age risk, and the generational performance gap. It was a real trade-off analysis, not a generic pros and cons list.
- Raising compatibility concerns. I had read that the laptop I was leaning towards had potential printing issues. Rather than searching Reddit or tech forums myself, I asked Grok directly. It confirmed the concern existed for some older drivers, explained what was resolved, and flagged what I needed to do after purchase to avoid issues.
- Confirming the final pick. I shared the exact listing for the laptop I was considering and asked Grok to confirm this was the model it had been recommending throughout. It was. So, I bought it.
The whole process was one focused session. No tabs. No separate YouTube search. When I wanted to see the laptop in action, Grok pointed me to relevant review videos directly, so I watched them without ever opening YouTube on my own.
What This Means for Brands
Here is what did not happen during my entire purchase journey:
- I did not visit any brand's website
- I did not click a single sponsored search ad
- I did not see a retargeting banner
- I did not land on a brand-owned blog post about "best laptops for productivity"
- I did not find a YouTube review through YouTube search
The brand's digital marketing presence, paid and organic, was invisible to me. And I still bought the product.
This is the problem for brands. Most marketing budgets are built around a search-and-browse journey. A growing segment of buyers is now skipping that journey entirely.
What AEO and GEO Mean (And Why They Matter Now)
Two disciplines are becoming critical:
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is about structuring your content so that AI tools like Grok, ChatGPT, and Perplexity surface your brand when someone asks a direct question. Not "laptops" as a keyword, but "what is the best laptop under MYR 3,500 for productivity and portability." AEO is about being the answer, not just a ranked result.
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) goes further. It ensures your product information appears accurately and favourably in what AI systems generate when comparing brands or making recommendations. If the AI has strong, consistent, structured data about your product, you show up. If it does not, no SEM budget rescues you.
SEM and SEO were built for a world where buyers open a search engine. AEO and GEO are built for a world where they skip it.
Should Brands Still Invest in SEM?
Yes, but with a clear-eyed view of where it still earns its keep:
- Bottom-of-funnel, high-intent searches where buyers have already decided and are comparing prices or looking for a specific retailer. These searches still happen on Google.
- Remarketing to audiences who encountered your brand through another channel.
- Niche or technical products where AI tools have thinner or less reliable coverage.
- Audiences not yet on AI research tools, which varies by age group, market, and product category.
What SEM is losing is the discovery and consideration phase. If someone starts their laptop research by asking AIinstead of Googling, your paid search budget has zero chance of intercepting them at that stage.
Where to Shift the Investment
- Structured, factual product content. AI systems surface what they can retrieve and verify. Detailed spec pages, clear product descriptions, and accurate third-party coverage feed AI recommendations directly. Keyword-stuffed landing pages built for search rankings do not.
- Earned media and PR. When multiple credible sources describe your product consistently, AI systems reflect that back. The PR function, long underinvested relative to paid search, becomes a core input into AI recommendation quality.
- Comparison-ready content. Content that directly answers "how does Product A compare to Product B for use case X" is exactly what AI systems draw from when generating comparisons. Write for that question format, not just for keyword ranking.
- FAQ and pre-purchase concern content. During my research, I asked Grok directly whether the laptop I was considering had printer compatibility issues. Grok could answer because structured content addressing exactly that concern existed somewhere online. Brands that publish clear FAQ pages covering common objections, compatibility questions, and "will this work with X" scenarios are giving AI systems the precise, retrieval-ready answers buyers ask before committing. This content does not need to rank on page one of Google to matter anymore. It needs to exist in a format AI can find and cite.
- Community and review ecosystems. AI pulls from forums, Reddit threads, and user-generated content. Brands that encourage genuine, specific user feedback are indirectly feeding AI recommendation systems.
- YouTube content. My research included video reviews, but I got there because Grok linked me directly to relevant videos. Being present in video review content still matters; the path to it has just changed. Brands that invest in seeding credible third-party video reviews are feeding both the AI recommendation layer and the viewing that follows it.
The Shift in Plain Terms
The research is still happening. The buyers are still doing their homework. What has changed is where that homework gets done, and who shows up in it.
The laptop I bought showed up in my Grok conversation because it had strong, consistent coverage across sources an AI system can draw from. The brand's SEM presence had nothing to do with it.
For brands still allocating most of their digital spend to paid search, the question is not whether this shift is coming. It is how much of the funnel it has already moved.
Key Takeaways
- AI-assisted research is already changing where discovery happens. Buyers are skipping the Google search entirely and going straight to AI tools for comparison, recommendation, and shortlisting. SEM cannot intercept a journey that never touches a search engine.
- AEO and GEO are not optional additions to SEO strategy. They determine whether your brand surfaces in AI-generated answers. If your product is not in what AI systems retrieve and recommend, you are invisible to a growing segment of buyers.
- SEM still earns its place at the bottom of the funnel. High-intent, price-comparison searches and remarketing remain valid use cases. Pull back on reliance on SEM for discovery and consideration among audiences who now start their research with AI.
- Structured, third-party-validated content is the new priority. Clear product specs, credible external reviews, and community-generated specificity are what AI systems draw from. Content built purely for keyword ranking does not translate into AI retrieval.
- Invest upstream in earned media, PR, and video. Consistent, accurate coverage across credible sources, including YouTube, is how your brand enters the AI recommendation layer. The channel that influences what AI says about you when a buyer asks is where the budget needs to go.
