From funnels to circles: Circular marketing in the age of AI search Cover Image

От фунии към кръгове: кръгов маркетинг в епохата на търсенето с изкуствен интелект
From funnels to circles: Circular marketing in the age of AI search

Author(s): Iskren Lilov
Subject(s): Essay|Book Review |Scientific Life, Cultural Essay, Conference Report
Published by: Академия за музикално, танцово и изобразително изкуство „Проф. Асен Диамандиев“ – Пловдив
Keywords: Circular Marketing; Generative Engine Optimisation; GEO; AI Search

Summary/Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how audiences discover, evaluate and choose brands. As Google’s AI Overviews and AI assistants like Chat GPT reduce clickthroughs to the open web, a new optimisation frontier – Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) – is emerging alongside classical SEO. This paper argues that linear funnel models no longer reflect non-linear, distracted and AI-mediated decision journeys. It introduces and formalizes the Circular Marketing Model™ – a continuous, trust-building system with three interlocking pillars (Performance, Content, Event Marketing), and positions it as a practical operating model for the AI era. Drawing on recent evidence that earned media dominates the sources cited by AI systems (thereby shaping AI answers), the paper shows why circular content- and event-led strategies, reinforced by GEO, outperform funnel-centric approaches.

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