Rethink gating in AI search

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💡 What to Show, and Why It Matters

For years, marketers have debated whether to gate their best content to capture leads or keep it open to maximize reach. Carolyn Shelby argues that the rise of AI-driven search has made this old choice outdated.

Generative search tools such as AI Overviews and Copilot do not simply index pages; they synthesize information. If your most valuable insights are hidden behind a form, AI cannot access them. This makes your brand invisible in the AI answer layer that increasingly shapes user behavior. If your competitor’s insights are freely available, AI will default to naming them the authority. Invisibility now equals irrelevance.

What You Should Make Public

Some assets should always remain ungated. These include executive summaries, FAQs, definitions, pricing details, and author bios. Think of them as an introduction to your brand. They create a mini knowledge graph that both users and AI can trust. Offering abstracts, methodologies, or key findings from reports allows your perspective to appear in AI answers.

What You Can Still Gate

Not everything must be free. Full research reports, detailed templates, and comprehensive case studies can remain gated. The modern approach is conditional gating: share enough insights upfront to be cited by AI, then ask for emails from serious prospects who want the complete data.

Avoid Soft Gates

Be cautious with “read more” toggles, expandable tabs, or hidden PDFs. AI systems typically only read what is visible on page load. Anything hidden behind an interaction may never be captured.

The Takeaway

AI does not work like a human lead. If content is locked, AI will not “want it badly enough” to dig deeper. Make your trust-building information clearly visible, and then gate the deeper layers. This balance ensures your brand remains both discoverable and competitive in an AI-first search environment.

💡 How to Generate Ad Creatives With Nano Banana

Producing ad mockups no longer requires expensive design tools or long production cycles. With Nano Banana inside Gemini, you can turn a single product image into ready-to-use visuals or even short videos in just a few minutes.

1️⃣ Enable the Tool: Open Gemini, go to Tools, and toggle on 🍌Create Images to activate Nano Banana.

2️⃣ Upload Your Product Image: Choose a high-quality product photo that will serve as the foundation for your ad creatives.

3️⃣ Enter a Clear Prompt: Provide details about the ad environments you want. For example: “Generate ad mockups from the attached image for four environments: airport display, shopping mall poster, highway billboard, and tech blog web banner. Preserve brand consistency and adjust the style to fit each setting.”

4️⃣ Review the Output: Nano Banana will place your product into realistic ad spaces, complete with proper perspective and lighting.

5️⃣ Create Short Videos: If you want dynamic content, toggle on Create videos with Veo. Your static product image will be transformed into short video clips with sound, ready for digital campaigns or social media.

The Takeaway

Nano Banana makes it easy to generate professional ad creatives at scale. You can produce static mockups or animated video ads quickly, while keeping brand identity intact. It is an efficient way to create compelling visuals without draining resources.

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