<p>eCommerce giant Sephora has built a $7.2 billion brand with masterful traditional search dominance, but they're making a critical mistake that could cost them millions in the emerging AI search landscape.</p><p>While Sephora excels with 18 million monthly organic visits and prime rankings for competitive keywords, our analysis reveals they're almost completely invisible in AI search results — leaving them dangerously exposed as consumer behaviour shifts.</p><p>The numbers for global changes in AI-source shopping behaviour tell a compelling story:</p><p>• AI search referrals increased 1,300% in the last holiday season</p><p>• 39% of consumers now use AI search for online shopping</p><p>• 47% rely on AI for product recommendations</p><p><strong>In this episode, I reveal:</strong></p><p>• How Sephora built their traditional search empire through elite backlinks and technical optimisation</p><p>• Why their minimal content strategy is failing catastrophically in AI search environments</p><p>• The stark visibility gap between their Google rankings and AI overview inclusion</p><p>• Specific strategies that both established brands and challengers can implement to avoid Sephora's mistakes</p><p>I'll share real examples of how smaller competitors like Molton Brown are outperforming Sephora in AI search despite having far fewer resources simply by providing genuine expertise through content.</p><p>As I explain in the episode:</p><p>"Of Sephora's top traffic-driving pages, the vast majority are being excluded from AI overviews even when they rank in the top 3 organic positions for the same query."</p><p>This trend represents both a warning for established brands and a golden opportunity for challengers to gain visibility against previously untouchable competitors.</p><p>Whether you're protecting market dominance or fighting to disrupt entrenched players, this analysis provides actionable strategies to strengthen your position as AI increasingly determines which brands consumers discover.</p><p><strong>Get the show notes:</strong></p><p><a href="https://exposureninja.com/podcast/351/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://exposureninja.com/podcast/351/</a></p><p><strong>Listen to these episodes next:</strong></p><p>Has Google’s NEW AI Search Changed SEO AGAIN?</p><p><a href="https://exposureninja.com/podcast/350/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://exposureninja.com/podcast/350/</a></p><p>How To Rank in ChatGPT (with Client Examples)</p><p><a href="https://exposureninja.com/podcast/348/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://exposureninja.com/podcast/348/</a></p><p>How To Rank in Perplexity AI (with Client Examples)</p><p><a href="https://exposureninja.com/podcast/349/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://exposureninja.com/podcast/349/</a></p>
