Marketing Funnel 2025
How Companies Drive Awareness, Conversion, and Loyalty in AI-Era
- Improve site speed & schema
- Add structured data & markup
- Optimise for AI answers (AEO/GEO)
- Publish authority-led content
- Repurpose short-form video for reach
- Build comparison guides & explainers
- Engage on forums & Q&A spaces
- Publish gated guides & webinars
- Optimise mid-funnel SEO content
- Capture leads with educational assets
- Optimise bottom-funnel pages
- Showcase reviews & testimonials
- Add ROI calculators & interactive tools
- Use structured FAQs to answer queries
- Strengthen branded & referral pathways
- Personalise CTAs with AI insights
- Test page variants for conversions
- Use urgency with time-bound offers
- Build onboarding flows with bonuses
- Support assistive selling with chat
- Create loyalty rewards & upsell flows
- Use predictive AI to flag churn
- Publish proactive support & help content
- Build communities around product success
- Encourage referrals & UGC creation
Market. Convert. Repeat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How has the marketing funnel changed for 2025?
The 2025 funnel integrates AI visibility at every stage. Awareness now includes AI citations alongside traditional reach. Consideration requires structured content for AI retrieval. Intent depends on appearing in AI-powered comparison queries. The core stages remain, but strategies and KPIs have evolved to account for AI-driven discovery.
Why is "AI citations in answers" a top-funnel KPI?
When users ask AI assistants broad questions ("What's the best CRM for small business?"), being cited creates awareness without any click. This top-funnel visibility influences perception before users even visit your site. AI citations are the new word-of-mouth for discovery—they build awareness at scale through trusted AI recommendations.
What's the most neglected funnel stage?
Consideration. Most companies flood the top (awareness content) and bottom (sales pages) while starving the middle. But the consideration stage—comparison guides, educational content, detailed explainers—is where AI systems find the structured content they cite most. It's also where B2B buyers spend 70% of their research time.
How does GEO/AEO optimisation fit into the funnel?
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) primarily impact Awareness and Consideration. They make your content retrievable by AI systems that answer informational and comparative queries. By the Intent and Conversion stages, users already know you—GEO/AEO ensures they discover you in the first place.
What KPIs matter most at the Intent stage?
Demo requests, trial sign-ups, and branded search volume. Intent-stage visitors know what they want—they're evaluating you against alternatives. Branded search volume shows people specifically seeking you (not just the category). Form completions on comparison and pricing pages signal high-intent prospects ready for conversion.
How do AI tools help at the Conversion stage?
AI enables personalised CTAs based on user behaviour, predictive lead scoring to prioritise follow-ups, chatbots for real-time sales assistance, and A/B test optimisation at scale. AI can identify which page variants convert best for different segments, and flag hesitant prospects for targeted intervention before they abandon.
Why is Loyalty now part of the core funnel?
Customer acquisition costs have risen dramatically. Retaining and expanding existing customers is more profitable than constant acquisition. Additionally, loyal customers create user-generated content and reviews that feed AI training data—positive sentiment from real users improves how AI systems describe and recommend your brand.
How do I build a funnel strategy for a small business?
Start with Intent and Conversion—where immediate revenue lives. Create structured FAQ and comparison content (Consideration). Build a simple email nurture sequence (Loyalty). Only then expand to broader Awareness tactics. Small businesses often waste resources on top-funnel activities before their conversion infrastructure is ready to capture demand.
Ready to Dominate AI Search Results?
Our SEO agency specializes in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies that get your brand cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. We combine traditional SEO expertise with cutting-edge AI visibility tactics.