New research from partnership platform impact.com, insights agency Cube and advertising group Dentsu makes a point that should reassure any small business owner feeling nervous about artificial intelligence: AI product discovery (people using tools like ChatGPT to find and compare things to buy) is growing fast, but human trust still decides whether the sale actually happens. In plain terms, more shoppers are asking a chatbot for ideas, then checking a real person’s opinion before they hand over money.
The headline finding, that AI is changing how people discover products while human recommendations still drive purchases, matters because it tells you where to put your limited marketing hours. You do not have to choose between “get found by AI” and “earn trust from people”. You need both, and for most SMEs the trust half is cheaper and more within your control. This article explains what the research signals, names the tools you would actually shortlist, and gives you a practical plan.
What the impact.com, Cube and Dentsu research actually says
The study looks at how the buying journey is splitting into two stages. Discovery is increasingly assisted by AI: shoppers type a question into a chatbot or a search engine’s AI summary and get a shortlist in seconds, without visiting ten websites. Decision, though, still leans heavily on human signals: reviews, a creator whose taste you trust, a friend’s recommendation, or a publisher you read regularly.
The takeaway for marketers is that being “the answer AI gives” is only half the battle. If a chatbot names your product but the shopper cannot find a credible human endorsing it, the sale often stalls. Trust is the tie-breaker. This is the same tension we covered in our look at what AI shopping agents mean for small retailers: the machine narrows the field, but people close the deal.
We are deliberately not quoting specific percentages here, because figures move between report versions and summaries. The direction of travel is the reliable part: discovery is getting more automated, and trusted human voices are getting more valuable, not less.
Why this is good news for small businesses
Big brands can outspend you on paid search and shelf space. They cannot easily out-trust a specialist independent business. Trust is built through the things SMEs are often better at: genuine expertise, a recognisable owner, honest reviews, responsive service and long-term relationships with a handful of creators or partners who actually use your product.
If AI discovery reduces the value of shouting loudest and raises the value of being genuinely recommended, that shift favours the focused specialist over the faceless catalogue. Your job is to make sure both the machines and the humans can find reasons to point at you.
Getting found by AI: the practical basics
AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity build their answers from content they can read and sources they consider credible. You improve your odds the same way you improve ordinary search visibility, with a few extra habits, and our guide to getting your small business found in AI search goes deeper.
- Answer real questions clearly. Pages that state a question and answer it directly are easier for AI to quote. This is the same discipline behind good local SEO for small business.
- Keep your technical foundations clean. Structured data and a crawlable site help. We explained why in why your website’s hidden blueprint could be costing you customers.
- Get named on sources AI trusts. Reviews, reputable directories, trade press and partner sites all feed the picture an AI builds of you.
- Use AI tools carefully in your own work. If you draft content with a chatbot, keep customer data out of it, as set out in our guide to using ChatGPT and Copilot without breaking UK GDPR.
Building the trust half: partnerships and creators
The trust side is where partnership marketing comes in, and it is impact.com’s core business. Partnership marketing means paying partners (affiliates, publishers, content creators, other brands) when they send you customers, usually on a commission or agreed fee. It is attractive for SMEs because you largely pay for results, not promises.
For UK small businesses, the shortlist of platforms and networks worth knowing includes:
- impact.com: a partnership management platform used to recruit, track and pay a wide range of partners, from traditional affiliates to content creators and brand-to-brand deals.
- Awin: a large affiliate network with a strong UK presence, well known for its “Awin Access” tier aimed at smaller advertisers getting started.
- Rakuten Advertising: an established global affiliate network with UK publishers.
- Partnerize: a partnership automation platform focused on tracking and paying partners at scale.
You do not need all of these. A specialist selling in one niche might do best with a small handful of hand-picked creators and one network. A shop with broad appeal might justify a larger programme. The point is that partnerships turn “an AI mentioned us” into “someone people trust recommended us”.
Comparison: partnership and affiliate options for UK SMEs
| Option | Best for | What it is known for | Cost model |
|---|---|---|---|
| impact.com | Growing brands wanting varied partner types | Managing affiliates, creators and brand partnerships in one place | Platform fee plus commissions you set; enterprise-leaning |
| Awin (Awin Access) | Small businesses starting affiliate marketing | Large UK network with an entry tier for smaller advertisers | Setup fee, ongoing fee and commissions; lower barrier via Access |
| Rakuten Advertising | Retailers wanting established publishers | Global network with recognised publisher relationships | Network fees plus commissions; typically larger advertisers |
| Partnerize | Brands scaling a partner programme | Automated tracking and partner payments | Platform-based pricing; suited to higher volumes |
| Direct creator deals | Niche or local businesses | Paying individual creators or bloggers you choose | Flat fee, gifted product, or agreed commission |
Exact fees vary by contract and volume, so treat the cost column as a guide and ask each provider for a quote based on your sales. As a rough benchmark, small affiliate programmes commonly run on commissions in the region of 5% to 20% of each referred sale, plus any network fees, but your margins should set the ceiling.
A realistic example
Imagine a Bristol business selling premium dog beds online for around £120 each. A shopper asks ChatGPT for “best orthopaedic dog beds for older dogs UK”. If the business has clear, well-structured product pages and a few honest reviews, it stands a chance of being mentioned. But the shopper does not buy on the chatbot’s word alone. They search the brand name, find a trusted dog-care creator who genuinely rated the bed, read a handful of five-star reviews, and only then buy.
That single sale required both halves: discoverable content for the AI, and a trusted human endorsement for the decision. Set up as a partnership, the creator might earn 10% (£12) on that £120 sale, paid only because the sale happened. That is affordable marketing you can run alongside a lean routine, as we describe in marketing on four hours a week.
Frequently asked questions
Does AI product discovery mean SEO is dead?
No. AI tools still read the open web to build answers, so clear, well-structured, credible content matters as much as ever. The skills overlap heavily with traditional search optimisation; you are just also writing for a machine that summarises rather than lists.
Is affiliate or partnership marketing worth it for a very small business?
Often yes, because you mostly pay for results. Start small with one network’s entry tier or a few direct creator deals, cap commissions at what your margins allow, and measure whether referred customers actually convert and stick around.
How do I know if my marketing is paying off?
Track cost per sale, the lifetime value of referred customers and how much time you spend managing partners. Our guide to knowing when automation has paid off covers the numbers-first mindset you should apply to any channel, partnerships included.
Are there rules about disclosing paid endorsements in the UK?
Yes. In the UK, creators and businesses must clearly disclose paid or incentivised promotions under advertising and consumer protection rules overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority. Make disclosure a written requirement in every partner agreement.
Which AI assistant should I use to help with marketing content?
It depends on your existing tools and comfort. Our comparisons of Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot and Microsoft Copilot versus Google Gemini can help you choose, but keep customer data out of any tool unless your contract and settings allow it.
What to do next
- Audit your discoverability. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your customers would ask. See whether you appear, and fix the pages that let you down.
- Pick one trust channel and start small. Either Awin’s entry tier, impact.com, or two or three direct creator deals. Set commissions your margins can carry, and require clear paid-promotion disclosure.
- Strengthen your review base. Ask happy customers for honest reviews on the platforms your buyers actually check, because those are the human signals AI and shoppers both weigh.
- Read the source. Review the impact.com research summary and Dentsu’s related commentary, then decide which one change you can make this month rather than trying to do everything at once.
