---
id: "quote-journey-starts-with-dialogue"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶2"]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/06/forget-what-you-know-about-seo-heres-how-to-optimize-your-brand-for-llms"
source_title: "Forget What You Know About Search. Optimize Your Brand for LLMs."
tags: ["consumer-behavior"]
related: ["claim-dialogue-replaces-search"]
speaker: "David Dubois, John Dawson and Akansh Jaiswal"
speakers: ["David Dubois", "John Dawson", "Akansh Jaiswal"]
quote: "Their customer journey no longer begins with a search query or a visit to your website—it starts with a dialogue."
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-ext-10-optimize-brand-for-llms"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/06/forget-what-you-know-about-seo-heres-how-to-optimize-your-brand-for-llms"
sourceTitle: "Forget What You Know About Search. Optimize Your Brand for LLMs."
---
# The new customer journey

> "Their customer journey no longer begins with a search query or a visit to your website—it starts with a dialogue."

— [[entity-david-dubois|David Dubois]], [[entity-john-dawson|John Dawson]] and [[entity-akansh-jaiswal|Akansh Jaiswal]]

Highlights the fundamental shift from keyword-based search to conversational AI interfaces as the starting point for commerce. This is the anchor evidence for [[claim-dialogue-replaces-search]] and the reason [[concept-share-of-model-d10|Share of Model]] matters.