Agentic search: what brands must do

From search visibility to agent action

As explained by keynote speakers Germain Deflandre and Pierre Georges, search is shifting fast. After SEO and then GEO, agentic search adds a new step: action. Users can ask an AI interface not only to find and compare options, but also to complete tasks such as booking, requesting a quote or purchasing. For brands, that means the journey from discovery to conversion may happen with far fewer direct visits and much more agent mediation.

Why this matters for brands and advertisers

This changes the role of brand visibility. It is still essential to be present in AI results, with accurate information and a clear narrative. But visibility alone will not be enough. If an agent cannot access the right data, understand a product or complete a key journey on a website, the brand risks being considered but not selected. For advertisers, this makes agent readiness a business issue, not only a technical one.

Protocols are becoming part of the marketing stack

Een van de kernboodschappen van de sessie gaat over het groeiende belang van protocollen. Die protocollen zullen agents in staat stellen om met platformen te communiceren en er acties op uit te voeren. Dit zijn enkele belangrijke protocollen:

• MCP (Model Context Protocol) maakt het mogelijk dat AI-modellen vlot verbinding maken met externe databronnen en tools.
• WebMCP (Web Model Context Protocol) wil het eenvoudiger maken om acties uit te voeren op een website, bijvoorbeeld een formulier invullen.
• UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) is ontwikkeld voor commerce die door agents wordt aangestuurd.
• AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol) heeft betrekking op veilige betalingen die door agents namens gebruikers worden uitgevoerd.

What brands should do now

The first step is to identify the business journeys that matter most: demo requests, quote forms, product discovery, customer account questions or ecommerce actions. Then review whether these journeys are usable by agents, both technically and semantically. In parallel, brands should continue their GEO efforts by improving discoverability, strengthening content and structured data, and building authority through trusted external sources. The next move is readiness: define MCP use cases, prepare WebMCP for priority actions, assess UCP for commerce, and check whether payment infrastructure can support emerging standards. The brands that start now will be in a stronger position when agentic search scales further in Europe.