FolloTalks Belgium: Marketing in the AI era: Strategy for a search everywhere world

Mark van Hattum, CEO Follo

Performance marketing is fundamentally changing. In 2026, the search behavior of potential customers no longer always starts in Google alone, but everywhere at once: in search, social, marketplaces, and in LLM-driven environments like ChatGPT and Gemini. The classic funnel and thinking in separate channels are no longer sufficient. Growth arises in a fragmented, non-linear customer journey. In this session, Mark van Hattum shows how performance marketing evolves: from optimizing to strategic choices, from separate disciplines to one integrated approach. From clicks and dashboards to demonstrable business impact.

The own platform is central: owned first, but always discoverable everywhere. Data is not an end in itself, but the foundation for strategic decisions. With FolloEngine, Follo connects market, platform, and behavioral data to insights that bring strategy and execution together.

Stijn Bergmans, Head of AI & LLM Marketing at Follo

Search is fundamentally changing. Findability no longer starts only in Google, but also on social media, marketplaces, and in LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini. This requires a shift from classic SEO to GEO within a broader Search Everywhere approach. In this session, Stijn Bergmans shows how brands become visible in AI-driven answers and why this goes beyond impressions alone. We look at links from LLMs as a new traffic channel and the shift from steering on traffic KPIs to steering on visibility and relevance. With FolloEngine, we measure how findable your brand is within Search Everywhere and compare this with your market position. This gives you insight into where you stand and where you gain or lose ground.

Anouk Sintniklaas, Head of Marketing, Media & Partnerships at Follo

Search is no longer what it used to be. AI-driven answers, zero-click results, and closed platforms are causing less traffic to flow from search to websites. At the same time, lower-funnel keywords are becoming more expensive and increasingly competitive. Relying solely on performance search is no longer sufficient.
In 2026, the role of programmatic clearly shifts toward the mid and upper funnel. Brands need to be present earlier in the journey, before search intent becomes explicit. Contextual targeting, connected TV, and premium inventory help build brand preference among the right audience.
The focus moves from capturing existing demand to creating future demand. In a changing search landscape, programmatic becomes not just a performance channel, but the engine behind structural commercial growth.

Imco van Elk, Head of Marketplaces at Follo

With the rise of ChatGPT and other AI interfaces, the way consumers discover products is fundamentally changing. The traditional search bar is increasingly replaced by conversational commerce, where AI selects and recommends products before consumers actively compare options themselves.
What does this mean for your visibility on marketplaces? How do you ensure your brand is included in AI-driven recommendations instead of simply appearing in a list of results?
In this session, you’ll discover what this shift means for your overall approach and how to respond strategically. We’ll show how to adapt to AI-driven product selection and prepare your brand for an environment where relevance, authority, and data quality determine success.

Kayn Wolfswinkel, Head of SEO at Follo

B2B marketing has a different dynamic than B2C marketing. Decision-making is more complex, journeys are longer, and multiple stakeholders determine the outcome together. AI fundamentally changes this playing field. Search behavior shifts from classic search engines to AI-driven environments, where answers, expertise, and reliability are central. In this session, we show what this means for SEO and B2B marketing strategy. We discuss how AI influences findability, content strategy, and thought leadership — and why SEO in B2B increasingly revolves around relevance, context, and trust. It's not just about rankings, but about visibility throughout the entire decision-making journey. This way, we help B2B organizations make their marketing strategy future-proof in an AI-driven world.

Chat with peers, share insights, and raise a glass to the future. Enjoy delicious drinks and bites and end the day relaxed.