Why AI-Driven Search Behavior Matters for Banks and Marketers
Consumers are shifting from traditional search engines to AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, which is fundamentally changing how financial products appear and get evaluated.
Amber Buker, Chief Research Officer at Travillian, reconnects with Alana Levine, Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, to explore one of the biggest shifts uncovered in Fintel Connect’s annual survey: the rise of consumers using Large Language Models like ChatGPT and Gemini to research financial products. This move away from traditional search engines is already reshaping affiliate marketing, prompting Fintel Connect to examine how different AI models source recommendations and how financial institutions can stay visible in a growing no-click environment.
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00:33 – 01:22: Why Fintel Connect Expanded Its Research Into AI Based Financial Search
Alana and Amber express excitement about discussing the survey result that showed more people are using LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini to search for financial products, such as “what’s the best credit card?”. Fintel Connect dug deeper because this trend significantly impacts the affiliate marketing industry.
01:22 – 03:00: The Role of LLMs as Content Curators
Research indicates that over 50% of Americans have used ChatGPT for financial recommendations
Consumers are using these platforms because they are doing very specific searches to find financial recommendations right for them and to help shortcut their research. LLMs are dependent on seeing what else is out there and referencing good quality, credible sources, similar to how Google sources high-credibility websites.
03:00 – 05:11: Fintel Connect’s Research Methodology and Consumer Behavior
The research aimed to prove that affiliate content heavily influences LLM prompt responses. They tested about 30 prompts per category, focusing on high yield savings accounts and credit cards, across different times and geographies. The conversational way people interact with LLMs allows them to phrase questions with personal parameters (e.g., “best credit card for me, as someone who travels a lot”), which feels personal compared to generic traditional search.
05:11 – 07:40: How ChatGPT Perplexity and Gemini Source Financial Product Information
The research found that ChatGPT and Perplexity heavily rely on third-party cited content. The responses often referenced publishers like Forbes, Fortune, Bankrate, and NerdWallet. Conversely, Gemini was heavily dependent on financial institutions (FIs) and would scrape information directly from an FI’s website, favoring bigger FIs with high Google rankings. For Perplexity, over 60% of the AI responses were cited from publisher sources.
07:40 – 10:20: Affiliate Visibility as a Critical Acquisition Strategy
While consumers still use affiliate sites to validate what they discover in LLMs, if an FI is not showing up in the LLM response, there is a very low likelihood that someone will recognize them as a viable option. Affiliate content will play a heavy role in visibility in LLMs. Even a great traditional search presence may not help in LLMs that rely more on affiliate-based content.
10:20 – 13:02: New Content Strategies for Financial Institutions Competing in AI Search
Alana suggests a new strategy, AI Engine Optimization (AEO), for FIs to own this space. Tips include creating comparison content (e.g., fintech to fintech comparisons) and highly specialized content that speaks to specific, conversational needs of customers, such as their lifestyle or specific banking needs.
13:02 – 16:30: Content Formats and Tools That Improve Visibility in AI-Generated Search Results
Content that is super consumable and aligned with the prompt performs best. Listicles, numbered articles, and comparison products are the types of content seen performing best and influencing LLM responses. Success requires reverse-engineering the prompt and making sure the content, including the meta description and URL slug, directly matches the desired answer. Specialized platforms like Profound and Peaked.ai can help guide brands on competitor visibility and potential prompts.
This follow-up conversation highlights the growing influence of AI in shaping financial product visibility. As consumer behavior shifts toward conversational search, banks and fintechs must rethink their content strategies to stay present in LLM-generated recommendations. Fintel Connect’s research offers a roadmap for how financial brands can adapt early and maintain visibility across emerging AI ecosystems.
