For years, digital marketing and in-particular SEO (search engine optimisation), has been the frontline tactic for insurance brands looking to win online. Get your site ranking for the right keywords, and the quotes and conversions would follow. But the rules of digital discoverability are changing, and they’re changing fast.
Search engines are no longer just gatekeepers of traffic. And no longer the only gatekeepers. With the rise of AI-generated search results (like Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Bing’s Copilot), social search on TikTok and Instagram, and new user behaviours, insurance brands are facing a much tougher battle to be found, clicked, and chosen.
The challenge? Traffic that once reliably fed quote funnels is being squeezed from all sides. And the insurance sector, already one of the most competitive in digital marketing, has some serious challenges to face.
In this article, James Gray (VP Digital Marketing) explores how the future of discoverability is being disrupted, and why it should be a priority for your insurance business.
Insurance isn’t a purchase people get excited about. It’s often a bit of a ‘grudge purchase’: customers just want peace of mind, quickly and cheaply. They don’t want to spend hours researching different brands’ missions and values (and even if they did, the majority would likely still go for the cheapest, fastest experience).
In that context, discoverability becomes make-or-break. If customers can’t find you easily when they search, and if you don’t show up where they’re spending their time, you simply don’t get a shot at winning their business.
For insurance brands, this has always been hard. You’re not just competing with other providers; you’re up against price comparison sites with deep paid media budgets and SEO teams the size of your entire marketing department.
The difference now is that even great SEO isn’t enough. Even a top organic position in Google doesn’t guarantee the click anymore.
AI-generated answers are increasingly appearing at the top of Google and Bing search results. These pull together information from across the web to deliver a synthesized response, often with no need for the user to click anywhere else.
For insurance brands, this is a big problem.
If Google’s AI can answer “What’s the cheapest travel insurance?” directly in the search results, why would a user click through to an insurer’s site?
Early data suggests the impact could be severe. Organic click-through rates are dropping in sectors where AI-generated overviews dominate, and insurance, with its simple, fact-based queries, is especially exposed. Some estimates predict up to a 140% decrease in organic traffic from these new SERP formats.
For most insurance brands, there’s an additional challenge right now – it’s almost impossible to properly measure the damage.
Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools don’t clearly report impressions or clicks from AI-generated results. Brands are flying blind, knowing traffic is dropping, but unable to pinpoint exactly where or why.
For insurance CMOs and marketing managers under pressure to justify digital budgets and forecast lead volumes, this lack of visibility is deeply uncomfortable.
At the same time, search behaviours are shifting away from Google altogether. TikTok and Instagram aren’t just entertainment platforms anymore; they’re search engines.
According to a report from GWI, while 64% of global internet users still use manual search engines, 42% turn to social media platforms, highlighting a growing shift in consumer behaviour.
This matters for insurance in two ways:
Insurance brands can no longer afford to think of social as a pure engagement play. It’s part of the discoverability mix now.
Compared to retail or travel brands, insurers have a harder time creating content that resonates on emerging platforms. Insurance isn’t visual. It’s not aspirational. It’s not inherently shareable.
That makes it even harder to compete in spaces like TikTok or Instagram search, where entertainment and relatability are the currency of discovery.
Add in heavy regulatory constraints about what you can and can’t say in advertising, and the challenge gets tougher still (we’ve experienced this with clients in the Financial Sector – we get it).
Insurance brands need a new playbook, here’s a few pointers of where to start:
Insurance brands have always faced tough competition in digital. But the shift from SEO to a multi-channel, AI-influenced discoverability world raises the stakes even higher.
Winning today means:
And above all, it means not fighting yesterday’s battles with yesterday’s strategies.
If you’re ready to rethink how your brand shows up in the future of search, the Remarkable team is here to help. Book a free Discoverability Pulse Check with us, assess where you are now, so you can build a smarter strategy for what’s next.
Remarkable are one of the world’s leading digital experience agencies. As a double Platinum Sitecore and Optimizely partner, we offer technology solutions to help brands build experiences that convert.
