02 · AI-Mediated Discovery

Conversational Search

Search as a back-and-forth, where later questions build on earlier ones.

Industry Term

Full explanation

Conversational search is a search interaction that takes the form of a back-and-forth conversation, where later questions build on earlier ones, rather than a single, isolated query.

Why this matters

It means a brand is rarely evaluated on one query. It is evaluated across a thread, which rewards consistency across a topic rather than optimization of a single page.

Where this sits

Conversational Search belongs to AI-Mediated Discovery, one of the seven layers of the Aingworth Glossary. The larger shift Aingworth is talking about, covering Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and whatever comes after them, without depending on any one platform's name.

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