'It’s about showing up better': Herd MSL and Publicis Groupe unveil Elevate AI search offering

Herd MSL has partnered with Publicis Groupe ANZ to launch Elevate, a new AI search visibility and authority service designed to help brands navigate the evolving search landscape.

The offering brings together search, content and earned media capabilities to address how brands are represented, trusted and recommended across AI-powered search environments.

Beyond visibility

As AI-generated search summaries increasingly shape how consumers discover and evaluate brands, Elevate aims to move beyond traditional SEO metrics.

The service focuses on how brands are framed within search results, identifies gaps in credibility, relevance, and authority, and guides investment across owned content and earned media.

Skye Lambley, Chief Executive Officer at Herd MSL, said AI search is transforming brand reputation.

“AI search is increasingly a reputation engine… it doesn’t just decide who appears, it shapes how brands are described, trusted and recommended,” Lambley said.

“Winning isn’t just about showing up more, it’s about showing up better. The brands that perform strongly are backed by credible, high-quality earned and owned authority… expert validation and consistent third-party proof points.”

Three-part offering

Elevate integrates three core capabilities from Publicis Groupe ANZ:

• Category-level search intelligence to map demand, competitor presence and third-party influence
• AI search strategy and content structuring to improve how brands are selected and represented
• Earned and owned authority building to strengthen trust signals across media and platforms

Closing the authority gap

Jack Telford, Head of Search at Zenith Australia, said brands risk losing control of their narrative in AI-driven environments.

“AI platforms assemble answers from a broader ecosystem of trusted sources… brands can experience a gap where third-party narratives shape visibility,” Telford said.

He added Elevate aims to close that gap by combining human expertise with AI-powered tools.

“Elevate brings together our specialist capabilities, human intelligence and AI-powered technology to close that gap,” he said.

Elevate positions Herd MSL and Publicis Groupe ANZ at the centre of this emerging space, as search evolves from a discovery tool into a reputation engine.

Main image: Skye Lambley

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