At CES 2026, Search Becomes the New Storefront — and PR Will Quietly Take Over the Funnel

By: Tom Rice

For years, CES has been a massive centerpiece of event marketing for consumer technology brands — the moment where giant booths, big unveils, and splashy demos were enough to capture attention and widespread news coverage. But 2026 marks a more fundamental shift. One that isn’t happening on the show floor, but in the way consumers actually find, evaluate, and buy the products being launched there.

AI-powered search, answer engines, and recommendation systems are rapidly replacing traditional browsing. Instead of flipping through pages of links, consumers now query platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Amazon’s Rufus - and increasingly GEO-aware search systems that tailor recommendations based on region, retailer availability, and real-world purchase behavior.

For anyone leading comms at a consumer tech brand — or partnering with a consumer tech PR agency — this shift changes the rules entirely.

AI Search Is Reshaping Consumer Behavior—And the CES Battlefield

Consumers already rely on AI assistants to help them choose everything from cars to earbuds to gaming headsets. The old funnel — search → browse → read reviews → click homepage → buy — is collapsing into a single step: Ask a question. Receive an answer. Click to purchase.

In 2026, more consumers will begin their buying journey inside an AI model than on Google or a brand website. That reality will be on full display at CES, where every category — smart home, digital health, mobility, fitness, entertainment, home robotics — will be competing not just for event marketing buzz, but for algorithmic preference.

And because GEO-driven search signals now influence how platforms rank, compare, and recommend products, brands must recognize that AI results no longer reflect a single “global” answer. They reflect localized sentiment, region-specific reviews, regional availability, and market-by-market momentum — a massive shift that PR must start engineering for.

AI search engines increasingly shape critical questions like:

• “What’s the best smart home device for apartments?

• “What’s the best budget smartwatch under $200?”

• “Is this VR headset worth it?”

• “Which smart glasses should I buy in 2026?”

These aren’t traditional browser queries anymore. They’re AI-generated rankings, built from everything an LLM has ingested about your brand — including GEO-specific customer feedback, local reviews, and regionally weighted press coverage. In this world:

• Earned media becomes the new SEO

• Creator commentary becomes credibility

• PR narratives become signals that both global and GEO-specific AI search engines use to make recommendations

This is the evolution consumer tech comms leaders need to pay attention to.

Why PR Is the New SEO

AI models don’t index advertising the same way search engines do. They pull from:

• Press coverage and reviews

• Social sentiment

• Creator explainers and hands-on videos

• Reddit and Discord conversations

• YouTube transcripts

• FAQs and help center transparency

• Product pages and spec sheets

This means consumer tech media relations has become the most important source of structured data for AI shopping engines — especially as GEO-specific AI recommendations start replacing universal “best of” lists with location-aware advice.

If your brand doesn’t have strong, high-authority earned media coverage, clearly articulated product narratives, or fresh, accurate content across these surfaces, AI search results will default to competitors who do. If the only content available about your product online is outdated, inaccurate, or dominated by negative conversation, AI-generated answers will amplify those signals.

Final Thought

CES 2026 won’t just be a battle of gadgets — it’ll be a battle of algorithms. The brands that rise won’t be the ones with the flashiest booth or the longest lines; they’ll be the ones whose stories end up inside the answers consumers trust most.

In a year where AI is doing half the shopping for us, the smartest move any consumer tech brand can make is simple: write the narrative you want the machines — and increasingly, the GEO-aware ones — to repeat.