Why D2C Brands Must Build Customer Community In AI Search Era

TL;DR

AI-powered search, zero-click results, rising ad costs and declining organic traffic are forcing D2C brands to rethink growth.

Building a branded online community helps regain visibility, reduce reliance on paid ads and future-proof success. Communities offer direct relationships, fresh content and lasting trust.

AI Search and Zero-Click Results: The New Reality

Until 2024, D2C brands relied on SEO to generate organic traffic. However, the AI answering engines are now a reality and the focus now is on answering ‘direct answers’. This means, LLMs decide which brand to promote. This creates a new challenge for D2C founders.

Google SGE and Search Behavior Shift

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) now shows AI summaries directly on the search results page. Nearly 60% of the searches no longer result in a click (Ref: SparkToro Zero-Click Search Study). This shift reduces organic traffic, even for high-ranking pages.

AI delivers instant answers
Fewer users visit brand websites
Trust in AI Search is rising (Ref: Bain Research)

What this Means for D2C Brands

Direct-to-consumer brands rely heavily on organic discover. As clicks fade away -

Brands lose visibility
Attribution becomes unclear
SEO becomes less effective

Traditional SEO Is Not Enough Anymore

Organic traffic is shrinking. Even well-optimized content often gets pushed below AI summaries. Reports show up to 25% decline in organic traffic for some sites.

AI picks sources unpredictably
Even top-ranked blogs get fewer clicks
Controlover search visibility is eroding.

Brand Voice Gets Lost

AI-generated summaries blur unique brand narratives. This weakens differentiation and makes it harder to build trust.

The Paid Ads Trap for D2C Brands

With SEO failing to deliver consistent traffic, D2C marketers are turning to Instagram, YouTube and TikTok to reach customers. But this strategy comes with problems:

Ad costs continue to rise year over year
Engagement is inconsistent and algorithm-dependent
ROAS often diminishes as competition increases.

Visibility Becomes Expensive

D2C brands must now “rent” attention on platforms they don’t control. This means:

Frequent content production with no compounding value
Constant experimentation with targeting and creatives
Dependency on third-party platforms that change rules often.

Not All Growth Is Sustainable

Paid ads may help launch products, but long-term success needs retention and advocacy. Ads don’t build loyalty - communities do.

Brand Communities: The Strategic Response

Building a branded community is a strategic response to changing search dynamics.

Communities are Owned Channels

D2C brands need stability. Communities give direct access to audiences, unaffected by search or ad platform changes.

Build engagement beyond search
Own your audience and data
Stay connected regardless of algorithm updates

Communities Reduce Paid Ad Dependence

Communities drive repeat traffic, organically. They can retain customers through relationships, not retargeting.

An important advantage of community is that they can turn your buyers into advocates and referrers.

Communities Boost Content and Discoverability

LLMs and traditional search engines need fresh content; and communities are the best resource on the Internet to provide them with authentic human content.

Members create fresh, ongoing discussions
Conversations surface long-tail keywords
Community content often ranks better than static blog posts

Core Benefits of Community for D2C Brands

There are several benefits of building a branded D2C community -

Forums Rank where Blogs Don’t: Forum threads are better than articles in targeting long-tail keywords. Usually, the thread titles are the actual keywords that people type in search engines. These threads are also preferred by LLMs to train their models.
Example: Giffgaff community: https://community.giffgaff.com/ often appears on page one of Google for variety of telecom-related queries. Customers help each other, driving constant traffic.
Build Loyalty Through Belonging: Communities foster two-way relationships. Customers feel heard and valued. Loyalty increases when people participate. Engagement deepens brand infinity and members become long-term supporters.
Example: Sephora Beauty Insider Community https://community.sephora.com/ - is an excellent example of a D2C community where customers share makeup routines, ask questions, write reviews and help each other. It builds trust among customers and makes them keep coming back.
Reduce Marketing Spend : Community lowers CAC. As organic reach shrinks and ad costs rise, communities offer an alternative by driving referral traffic. Returning customers lower acquisition costs and content is created by marketers, not just marketers.
Example: Lego Insiders Community - https://ideas.lego.com/community - Lego, a global D2C brand has built a thriving community called Lego Insiders. This community attracts members organically and retains them. The highly-engaged ecosystem boosts conversions and brand advocacy without relying on paid ads.
Unlock Continuous Customer Insight: Members share posts, pain points, feedback and suggestions. This is a goldmine for real-time insights into consumer behavior, needs and wants. It helps you spot trends faster, validate product ideas early and improve messaging based on actual conversations.
Example: MyFitnessPal Community https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/ - is an excellent example of a community that leverages insights derived from member conversations and feedback. The brand leverages data to refine features and offering.

How D2C Brands Can Start a Community

Define a Clear Purpose

Start with why your community should exist. Focus on topics customers care about, not just your product.

Think lifestyle, values, shared interests
Make participation meaningful

Choose the Right Platform

Instead of chat-style platform, go with a platform that retains your content for long-term and drives organic growth. Jatra (this platform), Discourse, Circle are some of the excellent choices. Read - Features to look for in community platform.

Seed with Engaged Users

Invite early customers and superfans. Start small and personal.

Reward top contributors
Encourage member-to-member interaction

Promote it Across Touchpoints

Mention your community at all strategic communication points:

On order confirmation pages
In email newsletters
Through product packaging or post-purchase flows

Support and Evolve

Appoint a community manager or founder-led voice. Keep iterating based on feedback.

Track engagement metrics
Adjust content and features
Scale organically with demand

Final Thoughts: Community is the Moat

The era of AI search is here. Traditional SEO is less effective. Paid ads are more expensive. D2C brands need a more sustainable solution.

Community gives you a defensible advantage:

Direct access to customers
Content that ranks and converts
Lower CAC and higher loyalty

Start building a community today. It’s not just a marketing tactic…it’s your most resilient growth asset in a world increasingly dominated by AI and algorithms.