According to major media reports, HubSpot lost 140 million website visits in a single year due to AI-driven changes in search behavior. Users are increasingly switching from search engines to AI tools, which deliver direct answers rather than links.
Search engines have rejigged algorithms to combat AI-generated content, making credibility on core topics more important, according to industry sources. Answer engine optimisation (AEO) or generative engine optimisation (GEO) helps websites rank well in AI tools. According to BBC News - Business, Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot's chief marketing officer, described that the average query length in AI search engines is 40 to 60 words, compared to four to six words in traditional Google search. He also noted that the click-through rate for searches with AI overviews is about 60% to 70% lower. Being top of search ranking is not necessarily as crucial as it once was, as generative engine optimisation for AI platforms replaces traditional SEO.
I remember the days when I would search [the web] and there was no good information. Sometimes there was some stuff, but I had to scroll through 10, 20, 30 links. What you have now is access to all the world's intelligence in an instantaneous way. How people find information and subsequently take action is very, very different.
Consumers are increasingly asking chatbots or AI-powered search engines for product recommendations and purchases, according to major media reports. Half of British people use AI to inform their financial planning, and 41% would use a chatbot for financial counselling services, according to major media reports. Around 40% of people already use a brand's AI agent for shopping tasks.
Brands need to treat AI systems as shoppers who make choices on behalf of people and companies, according to Financial Times - Companies, James Denton Clark. He also described that an influencer video on TikTok or a 'how to' on YouTube can matter as much to an AI model as a homepage. PR is becoming more important to secure coverage in trusted news sources used to train LLMs, according to industry sources. AI raises stakes for brands making false promises about sustainability or performance, according to industry sources.
The click-through rate for searches that have AI overviews is about 60% to 70% lower.
We've been able to use answer engine optimisation to increase the conversion rate and quality of the people who are coming to us.
I don't know how you are a competitive business in the future without having a strong competency in this.
Maybe you enter four to six words in a traditional Google search. In an AI search engine, the average length is 40 to 60 words. So, you're talking about an order of magnitude of specificity change.
An influencer video on TikTok or a ‘how to’ on YouTube can matter as much to an AI model as your homepage does.