Your festive campaign may be ready. The creative is approved, the offers are loaded and the media budget is allocated. But can your brand answer the question a customer is actually asking?
Pule Martin, Digital & E-Commerce Manager, Environ Distribution SA. Image supplied
“I need a skincare gift for someone who likes a simple routine. My budget is R1,000. What would you suggest?”
That question says something important about discovery. The customer has described a person, a preference, a budget and a need. They have given the recommendation a brief.
For brands preparing for festive trading, this is the language we need to understand — and speak.
From product categories to customer needs
My experience in e-commerce has taught me that the way we organise products internally is not necessarily the way customers shop.
We think in ranges, formulations, product categories and campaign names. Customers arrive with concerns, desired outcomes and practical questions. They want to know whether something will work for their needs, fit their budget and be easy to use.
AI-assisted search gives them another way to ask all of that at once.
The implication for brands is significant: our information needs to explain clearly how the product relates to the situation the customer has described. A campaign headline can attract attention. The information beneath it must do the work of helping someone choose.
Make product relevance clear
I believe this is where brands need to become much more deliberate. We cannot expect customers — or the systems helping them research — to translate every technical term, interpret every ingredient or work out the relevance of a product for themselves. We need to make that relevance visible.
In beauty, a shopper may describe skin that feels dry after cleansing, a preference for a lightweight texture or uncertainty about starting a routine. These are useful entry points for content because they reflect how someone experiences a concern.
A product name alone cannot answer them. Neither can an ingredient list without explanation.
I would build product information around three connected questions: what concern does this address, what benefit can someone reasonably expect, and how does it fit into their life?
That means moving from a description such as “a luxurious festive skincare essential” to a clear explanation of what the product does, who it is intended for, how it feels and how to use it.
The explanation must remain accurate. Concern-led content should help someone assess suitability without turning a cosmetic benefit into a medical promise. Benefits should be supported, and limitations should be stated where they matter.
Clarity is a commercial responsibility. When a customer has to contact the business to understand a basic product difference, I see an opportunity to improve the page. When the same question keeps appearing in comments, messages or consultations, I see the language our content should be using.
Those questions are valuable research. They tell us what customers cannot yet understand from the information we have provided.
Write for the questions shoppers actually ask
AI discovery makes this work more relevant. Shopify’s guidance, for example, recommends clear, accurate and detailed product information to help AI platforms match products to customer searches. It also stresses current store policies and recognises that other platform-specific factors influence results.
For me, the practical response is to make information easy to locate, read and interpret.
Begin with a direct explanation of the product and its intended use. Follow with the relevant benefits, suitability, application and important considerations. Use descriptive headings, short paragraphs and specific language. Answer the question before adding the brand story around it.
A customer should be able to scan a page and understand the essentials. Someone who needs greater detail should be able to find that too.
For a festive gift set, I would want the page to explain exactly what is included, the sizes, the routine involved and whether the recipient needs prior familiarity with the products. Price, availability and delivery information should be straightforward.
“An indulgent moment of care” can still belong in the copy. It simply cannot carry the entire purchasing decision.
Use comparisons to support better decisions
I would also give greater attention to useful comparisons.
What is the difference between two products in the same range? Which option suits someone who prefers fewer steps? Does the set contain everything needed for the routine? When would professional advice be appropriate?
These are the questions that help turn a broad interest into an informed choice.
The objective is to provide enough substance for a product to be considered for the right reasons. An unsuitable recommendation is of little value to either the customer or the brand.
Get the technical foundations right
This also requires technical discipline. There is no single set of requirements shared by every AI service. Brands need to understand the discovery channels relevant to their customers and ensure that their information is accessible through the methods those services support.
For Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, established SEO practices remain relevant. Google highlights accessible text, eligibility for indexing, accurate structured data and current business and product information. It does not require special AI markup, and meeting its requirements does not guarantee inclusion.
My recommendation is to get the basics right before chasing a new optimisation label.
Put essential information in readable page text. Keep product names, descriptions and attributes consistent. Check that feeds and retailer listings reflect the current product. Give clear answers a permanent home beyond a temporary campaign graphic.
A beautiful website still needs to communicate precisely.
Credibility matters beyond your own website
I also expect renewed strategic attention to traditional PR, earned coverage and paid media as brands consider the wider information available about them.
Public editorial coverage can provide sources that AI search systems may encounter; paid activity can help distribute useful content, but advertising spend itself does not secure an organic AI recommendation.
The underlying principle is credibility. Brands should publish evidence for their claims, make relevant expertise accessible and create opportunities for informed independent discussion.
At the same time, we should protect what makes the communication human.
Speaking the customer’s language requires cultural understanding and creative judgement. For a South African shopper, relevance may include local availability, summer conditions, different skin tones, affordability and delivery practicality. These details should shape the content from the beginning.
Test how AI represents your brand
I do not believe the answer is to fill websites with hundreds of near-identical pages written for imagined algorithms. I would rather see a brand answer its customers’ most important questions with depth, care and a recognisable point of view.
Then test how that information is represented.
Ask realistic shopping questions across relevant AI services. Include different concerns, budgets and locations. Examine whether the brand appears, whether its benefits are described accurately and which sources are cited.
A mention is different from a recommendation, and a single response is only a snapshot. Use repeated checks to identify gaps and inaccuracies, alongside referral and sales data where available.
Make festive readiness about more than the campaign
For this festive season, I would start with the products that matter most commercially and review their content through the customer’s eyes.
Can someone quickly understand what the product offers? Does the page address the concern that brought them there? Are the benefits specific and supported? Is the next step clear?
My experience has taught me that customers give us the language we need through the questions they ask. Our job is to listen carefully and turn that understanding into useful information.
When a shopper asks AI for help choosing, our brand should have already made its relevance clear.
