Of the many decision-making toggles a consumer has in their toolkit – where does brand come in?

I needed a grey sweater. So, I started at the start: Search. Without a particular brand in mind, I entered my parameters – and invited the deluge. Thumbnail by thumbnail. Ad after ad. Brands I’d heard of, brands I hadn’t. Prices that enticed, others that alarmed. Materials. Sizes. Sources. Reviews. Ratings. How am I supposed to choose?

Online platforms are increasingly prevalent forms of discovery. About two-thirds of shoppers head to search engines like Google to research new products. And just over half of online shoppers begin their search directly on Amazon. Once there, these experiences can be densely crowded, filled with choice similarity, promoted content, and even untrustworthy sources. The top results are not always the best results – they’re just the best at SEO.

It goes beyond grey sweaters. Search for the best credit card, it’s sponsored ads and traffic-driving listicles. Wireless speakers? All ads above the fold. New rain boots? Same story. It’s the grand irony of the contemporary internet: search is great when you know what you want. But it’s bad when you need to, you know, search.

At the outset, search and aggregator platforms seemed poised to deliver precise customization amid untold breadth. Their potential disruption to discovery raised questions about the role of brands. When you need something new, will the platform just pick it for you? Will the aggregators simplify the decision-making process so much that they sever the emotional bonds between people and brands, casting out connection and ushering in calculation? Perhaps by putting our faith in trusted platforms, we’d lessen the need for trusted brands.

The opposite has occurred. Platforms have changed over the years. What began as a more neutral marketplace for buyers and sellers, has morphed into a cunning, captive environment. With all parties firmly entrenched, platforms now favor promoted content and profit margins, at times squeezing out the brands consumers may actually want to discover. It’s search tool meets sales pitch. An engine with an agenda. Welcome, to the “amalgorithm.”

Today, the consumer relationship with aggregator platforms is a mix of trust and apathy. On one hand, there are obvious benefits: ease of search, quickness, discoverability of new brands. On the other, the pitfalls: overwhelming choice, confusion, endless scroll, or skew towards promoted content or “in-house brands” that undermine independent businesses.

It’s become clear. Search is broken. And that’s great news for Brand.

Among countless negligible differences in products, brand can stand out. Within the conspiracy of all-too-convenient sponsored content, brand can deliver good old-fashioned trust. On a results page with thumbnails that feel functional and cold, brand can inject a little emotion.

Modern search is a party full of strangers. Brand is your friendly face in the crowd.

Even in categories where you’d think consumers may not mind the mindlessness of the amalgorithm, brand has a role. Sure, brand leads the way if you’re searching for a luxury watch. But it also serves as the tiebreaker when you’re searching for new shoelaces, and functional filters alone (like price, or color) haven’t down-selected you to one option

As search changes, the phenomenon remains. AI search engines promise timelier results, preempting endless scroll by picking links and results most relevant to the user. These AI personal shoppers can shorten the search marathon, but they cannot cross the finish line – that’s on the searcher.

Regardless of category or search engine type, the modern search experience is increasingly difficult to navigate. And this leaves an opening. To use brand not only to break ties, but to make ties. To not just earn a spot in AI’s search shortlist, but to earn a place in an individual’s mental rolodex. To become a “go-to” brand – giving consumers the confidence to bypass the amalgorithm entirely.

So next time they need a grey sweater, they don’t start with search. They start with you.