Discovery

Discovery is how people learn about the things they can do in the metaverse—and increasingly, how AI mediates the relationship between creators and audiences.

This encompasses both established marketing channels (advertising networks, sponsorships, curated app stores) and community-focused alternatives (decentralized marketplaces, messaging platforms, social media). But the most dramatic shift in discovery is happening through AI.

The rise of large language models has created a parallel universe of discovery. Research shows that Google and LLM-based search share only 12–15% URL overlap—80% of URLs cited by LLMs don't appear in Google's top 100 results. This divergence has spawned an entirely new discipline: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which replaces traditional SEO as the primary framework for how content gets found.

The economics are compelling: AI-driven search delivers conversion rates of 14.2% compared to 2.8% for traditional search—roughly 6x higher. Some 58% of consumers now rely on AI for product recommendations, double the rate from two years ago. Content freshness alone can shift AI recommendation positions by 95 ranks, and 25–92% of LLM citations come from earned media rather than paid placement.

Discovery in the agentic web represents approximately 58% of AI applications—the largest of three pillars alongside commerce and creation. As AI agents gain the ability to not just answer questions but take autonomous action, discovery transforms from a passive information-retrieval process into an active, agentic experience where the answer itself becomes an application.