AI Footprint: The New Strategic Challenge for Companies in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence

Introduction

This autumn is off to a flying start, particularly in this new era of AI, which never sleeps and never takes a vacation.

I'm reacting hot on the heels of my participation this morning in a presentation by Occurrence, with whom I collaborate and whose bias I'll obviously assume.

However, the subject is of particular interest to me, as it lies at the heart of my interests in terms of image, reputation and business impact.

How is AI today disrupting our role as personal/professional advisors, freeing us from our historical references, the world of Google, the Top 10 links on the first page, and the SEO rules cherished by marketers and IT professionals?

On what basis do our new AI friends make recommendations and suggest brands, products or services to satisfy all our needs?

As we all know, to date, no AI has delivered the instructions on how to appear not in the rankings, but simply to be THE personalized RECOMMENDATION to a question.

This brings us straight to the heart of the matter: AI is becoming an essential KOL. And the question that immediately arises for a communicator is: how to inform and influence this KOL?

And the question remains unanswered... nobody has the answer.

Hence the idea of Occurrence, which is still committed to promoting the role of the Dircom, and which suddenly understands a revolutionary issue (yes, the word is strong).

If AI becomes one of the main KOLs that can make or break a company or brand, it's no longer a technological issue (CIOs, CTOs, CDOs be damned), but a communications issue - and not the least.

Assaël Adary, President of Occurrence, with his strong convictions and commitments to the communications profession, rightly pointed out that if the question is put to the Comex, the CEO should immediately turn to the Dircom.

It's up to the Dircoms to understand this crucial issue and to investigate, so as to be equal to the question posed.

Occurrence has anticipated this and is presenting an extremely innovative approach this autumn, with a focus on research and analysis, coupled with its AI expertise via its subsidiary DeepOpinion.

In essence, this is the idea and the approach put forward to anticipate in this fast-changing world, whose codes have already had a major impact on our professional and personal lives.

I'd be absolutely delighted to discuss these influential topics with you, and to orchestrate an exchange with the specialists who have worked on these offerings.

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"AI, my beautiful AI, tell me, who is the most beautiful?"

The advent of generative artificial intelligence marks a decisive turning point in the French and international economic landscape. Occurrence's BtoAI Footprint offer, developed in partnership with DeepOpinion, reveals an inescapable reality: generative AIs have become unavoidable prescribers, redefining the codes of influence and corporate reputation.

A New Paradigm of Influence: When AIs Become Your Main KOLs

The AI Recommendation Revolution

The figures speak for themselves: 54% of French people say they are ready to click on an AI-generated recommendation, whether for a product, hotel or service. This proportion rises spectacularly to 72% among the under-35s, revealing a profound generational transformation in consumer behavior.

Already, 35% of 18-24 year-olds prefer generative AI to a conventional search engine. Even more revealing, 26% of French people consider these recommendations to be reliable, and even 37% among 18-24 year-olds. This growing trust in AI prescriptions is fundamentally transforming the way consumers discover, evaluate and choose brands and products.

Direct impact on purchasing decisions

The influence of AI on purchasing behavior continues to grow. According to a recent study, 31% of French people are already using AI to make purchases, representing a 46% increase compared to 2024. Even more significantly, 42% of those surveyed say they are ready to adopt this technology for their future purchases.

This trend is accompanied by a major behavioral change: Internet users no longer seek to explore links, they rely on a synthetic, personalized and automated proposal. Generative AI has a direct impact on the act of purchasing, reputation and even employment.

BtoAI Footprint: a pioneering methodology for measuring your AI Footprint

An exhaustive, scientific approach

Occurrence's BtoAI Footprint represents a major methodological innovation in a context where LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization) is still in its infancy. This solution combines Occurrence's analytical rigor with DeepOpinion's technological expertise to offer a complete audit in 6 strategic dimensions.

The methodology is based on a sophisticated architecture testing 6 generative AIs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, Copilot, Meta AI), 5 crucial themes (Corporate, offer/services, employer brand, products, image), 4 formulations and iterations to simulate different uses, 3 personas adaptable to the customer, 2 competitors for benchmarking, culminating in 1 consolidated footprint analyzing over 1,200 AI responses.

Advanced Prompts Engineering

BtoAI Footprint's technical innovation lies in its highly precise call parameterization (temperature, top_p, frequency_penalty) to calibrate prompts and reduce response volatility. This approach guarantees replicable, explicable and auditable interactions with LLMs, enabling large-scale measurement and mimicry of generative AI responses.

The creation ofcustomized AI agents with precise parameter settings faithfully reproduces user behavior, with each generated agent following a distinct query logic (search-first, recommendation-first, competitive comparison).

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The Critical Business Issues of the AI Footprint

A systemic reputational risk

Artificial intelligence is transforming reputation management into a permanent informational battlefield. It increases the speed with which information and disinformation can be disseminated, and lowers the barriers to the manipulation of images, videos and speeches. For investors and financial decision-makers, this means that reputational risk is changing in nature: it is becoming systemic, exponential and potentially value-destroying.

The urgent need for a proactive strategy

In this new context, it's no longer just a matter of convincing your audiences, but the AIs

that guide them. Generative AIs have become a new filter for accessing your audiences, recommending, prioritizing and personalizing for all your publics: citizens, consumers, employees, candidates or elected representatives.

The lack of visibility in AI responses can have dramatic consequences. The example of a manufacturing CEO discovering that his company does not appear in any AI recommendations in his sector of expertise, unlike three of his competitors, illustrates this reality perfectly.

BtoAI Footprint's strategic deliverables

A complete mapping of your AI Footprint

BtoAI Footprint delivers a detailed cartography revealing what AIs say about you, how they formulate it, where they get their information from, and highlights biases, gaps and weak signals. This inter-IA, inter-persona and inter-survey comparative analysis offers an unprecedented panoramic view of your positioning in the AI ecosystem.

Actionable recommendations

The audit is accompanied by a collaborative workshop to share key learnings, identify strategic points of attention, and cross-reference your internal priorities with the AI findings. The resulting action plan prioritizes actions to strengthen valued sources (website, press, social networks), correct blind spots, and initiate reflection on paths to influencing AI.

Towards a New AI Attention Economy

The Emergence of LLMO as a New Discipline

Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO ) is transforming the way content is structured so that AI systems position your brand as a reference authority. Unlike traditional SEO, which fights for the top 10 blue links, LLMO aims to be one of the two or three sources that AI systems actually recommend.

Environmental impact to consider

Alongside business opportunities, the mass adoption of generative AI raises critical environmental issues. Nearly half of senior executives believe that their use of generative AI has led to an increase in their greenhouse gas emissions, which they estimate at between 2.6% and 4.8%. This reality requires companies to measure and optimize the carbon footprint of their AI strategies.

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Conclusion: The Strategic Imperative of the AI Footprint

Occurrence's BtoAI Footprint offering comes at just the right time to address an emerging critical business issue. In a world where 67% of consumers believe that making a purchasing decision is becoming increasingly difficult, and where generative AI is becoming the preferred decision-making guide, mastering one's AI Footprint is becoming a decisive competitive advantage.

The pioneering approach combining Occurrence's consulting expertise and DeepOpinion technology offers companies a precise diagnosis, actionable recommendations and a clear roadmap for optimizing their presence in the generative AI ecosystem. At a time when 42% of executives have had to reassess their climate targets due to the adoption of AI, this solution also represents an indispensable ESG steering tool.

Faced with this major transformation of codes of influence and reputation, the question is no longer whether companies should take an interest in their AI footprint, but rather how quickly they can deploy an adapted strategy to ensure they don't fall behind their competitors in this new race for artificial influence.

Whether you'd like to think more deeply about your organization's AI footprint, or explore the strategic opportunities offered by BtoAI Footprint, the combined expertise of Occurrence and DeepOpinion opens up new perspectives for mastering this ongoing revolution.

I look forward discussing these topics...

Olivier F.