Customer journey
The customer journey is the path someone takes from first noticing a need to buying and using a product, and every place they meet a brand along the way.
The customer journey is the path someone takes from first noticing they need something to buying it, using it and maybe buying again. It covers every place they come across a brand on the way: a search, a friend's tip, a review, an ad, a product page.
Mapping it helps you put the right content in front of people at each step, instead of talking only to those who are ready to buy.
The usual stages
Most maps use a few broad stages. People become aware of a need, look at their options, compare a shortlist, decide, and then use what they bought. The questions they ask change at each step, and so does what helps them.
For example, someone thinking about a coffee subscription might first ask whether one is worth it at all. Then they ask which is best for espresso, then compare Fernhill Coffee with Kestrel Roasters, and finally ask how to pause their Fernhill subscription.
How AI assistants change the journey
More of those questions now go to AI assistants, and one conversation can cover several stages at once. Someone can go from "what should I look for?" to a shortlist to a final pick without visiting a single website.
That means a brand can drop out of the journey early without knowing it. If an assistant leaves you off the shortlist at the comparison stage, the person may never search for your name at all. It's worth checking what the platforms say at each stage, not only when someone asks about you directly.
In AnswerOrbit
You can group your prompts into topics and tag them by stage, so you see your visibility for early questions apart from the ones asked just before buying. Audiences in Settings lets you ask prompts as a particular kind of customer. See Topics and prompts and Settings.