26 Feb, 2026

This episode is based on the article published on AIXD.world, a subsidiary of 10PlusBrand.com.

👉 To watch this as a 13-min video

👉 Read the original full article on AIXD.world.

👉 Read the summary of the article: Brand Visibility in the Agentic Age: How to Use an AI Brand Agent to Win at AI Search and SOM (Share of Model) on 10PlusBrand.com.

Why AI Brand Agents Are Now a Strategic Imperative

AI is already replacing traditional search. A Harvard Business Review survey of 12,000 consumers found that 58% used AI to search for products and services in 2025, up from just 25% in 2023. These AI search users skew younger, wealthier, and better educated.

The next disruption is even larger: agentic AI is beginning to change not just how people find products — but how they buy them. Brands that have not yet deployed AI brand agents risk becoming invisible at the precise moment a purchase decision is made.

What Is SOM (Share of Model) — and Why It Is Replacing SEO?

SOM (Share of Model) measures how often and how favorably a brand is mentioned in responses generated by large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity. It tracks mention rate, average position, and brand perception across AI search platforms.

In the Agentic Age, AI search visibility is binary: your brand is either in the answer — or it does not exist for that buyer. Unlike Google, on ChatGPT “there is no page two.” (HBR). Brands that invest in SOM strategy now will define the category leaders of tomorrow.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

The Two Pillars of SOM and AI Search Visibility

• Solve specific problems. LLMs optimize for resolution, not attention. Specificity — precise use cases, pain points, and solutions — drives AI search presence and SOM.
• Establish authority. Show sources, provide product depth, and leverage user-generated content. LLMs reward demonstrated expertise with higher mention rates.

How to Build and Deploy Winning AI Brand Agents

• Proprietary data advantage. In-house AI brand agents leverage brand-specific data — customer profiles, purchase history, product specs — that third-party consumer agents cannot access. Sephora’s brand agent, for example, draws on 140,000 skin tone profiles and 34 million user records.
• Human-in-the-loop model. For high-stakes transactions, AI brand agents can escalate to human advisors, adding the empathy and creativity that pure AI cannot replicate.
• Responsible AI practices. Clear privacy standards and auditability dramatically increase customer adoption of brand agents over generic consumer agents.

Four Strategies to Influence Third-Party AI Search and Consumer Agents

• Educate the AI. Regularly prompt leading LLMs, audit their responses, and update content until AI search reflects accurate brand messaging.
• Integrate with consumer agents. Embed brand utility into the AI search journey — Instacart’s ChatGPT plugin, which adds recipe ingredients to a cart automatically, is a model to follow.
• Optimize formatting and coding. Adopt the LLMS.TXT format to surface your most authoritative content to LLMs and AI brand agents.
• Prepare for pay-to-play. Advertising within AI search is coming. Brands should develop strategies now while advocating for transparency in line with evolving global regulations.

Take the Next Step

👉 Contact Joanne’s team at 10 Plus Brand to begin building your brand’s AI brand agents, AI search presence, and SOM strategy before your competitors do.

👉 Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for more insights on AI brand agents, AI search, SOM (Share of Model), and brand visibility in the Agentic Age.

👉 Read the original full article on AIXD.world.

👉 Read the summary of the article: Brand Visibility in the Agentic Age: How to Use an AI Brand Agent to Win at AI Search and SOM (Share of Model) on 10PlusBrand.com.

About the Author: Joanne Z. Tan, Brand Strategist & Thought Leadership Coach

Joanne Z. Tan is the Founder & CEO of 10 Plus Brand, Inc. She is a globally recognized brand strategist, thought leadership coach, content and branding expert, and speaker. Joanne helps founders, CEOs, executives, board members, and organizations decode their Brand DNA, elevating successful businesses to powerful brands in the AI age.

Her coaching emphasizes comprehensive strategies, business modeling, multidisciplinary thought leadership, high-authority content creation, brand building, GTM, user experience design, AI Native Brand Architecture™, and AIXD™ (AI Experience Design). Trained in law and business with a liberal arts foundation from Brandeis University, Joanne is also a former journalist, award-winning photographic artist, poet, and avid wilderness backpacker.

© Joanne Z. Tan, 2026. All rights reserved. Originally published on AIXD.world.

To read the transcript of this episode as a blog post (Click Here)