Earning the AI Answer: Mars Petcare’s Generative Search Strategy

Mars Petcare needed to protect its organic visibility as AI-generated answers began reshaping the SERP. Rather than chasing every algorithm update, we focused on the three fundamentals that have always driven search success: technical health, content and authority, adapting each for the AI era.

We started by rebuilding the UK site so AI agents could understand and retrieve its content as easily as search engines. We then mapped content to the moments that matter most in the pet parent journey, creating content designed to surface within AI-generated answers. Finally, we shifted investment towards the channels AI was already citing, building long-term authority instead of chasing individual rankings.

The strategy delivered across every measure that mattered. UK visibility against our AI Overview target ran 35% ahead of plan, LLM visibility increased 9% quarter on quarter, and that visibility translated into 2 million incremental clicks.