Traditional search engines like Google are no longer the only gateways to online information. Today, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini, along with AI-powered search overlays such as Google’s AI Overviews, are reshaping how users interact with content. This shift has led to a new type of referral traffic, namely AI traffic, which behaves very differently from what digital marketers are used to.
The implications for SEO are clear: if your content strategy still revolves solely around keyword rankings on traditional SERPs, you risk losing visibility. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon Google optimisation altogether. The key lies in building a hybrid SEO strategy; one that retains your ranking strength while earning relevance with AI-powered search engines.
The Difference Between Google Search Traffic and AI Traffic
Google Search, as we’ve known it for decades, is click-driven. Users enter a query, scroll through a ranked list of web pages, and click on a link to find their answer. In contrast, AI traffic behaves differently. It’s powered by conversational interfaces that deliver direct answers instead of lists of links. This means that users may get the information they’re looking for without ever clicking through to a site.
To illustrate this shift, a study by Vercel showed that AI-driven responses have reduced traditional click-through rates by up to 34.5%. Meanwhile, platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are sourcing information from sites without delivering the referral traffic we typically measure in analytics.
That said, AI traffic is not valueless. In fact, users referred by AI models tend to convert 4.4 times better than those from traditional search, according to Semrush. That’s because these users often arrive with higher intent – they’re directed to your brand as part of a credible, contextual recommendation by the AI engine.
Why Traditional SEO Isn’t Enough Anymore
This new traffic landscape presents quite the challenge. AI models don’t just rank results; they interpret, summarise, and synthesise. Unlike Google’s familiar algorithm that rewards keyword density, domain authority, and backlinks, LLMs focus on contextual understanding, relevance, and structured clarity.
What this means is that the top 10 Google rankings won’t always translate to AI visibility. According to the Semrush AI Traffic Study, many AI systems cite pages ranked 20th or lower on Google. In other words, if your content is rich in context, structured clearly, and semantically complete, it could be referenced, even if it’s not page-one material.
Traditional SEO still matters, of course. It creates the content and technical foundation your site needs to be crawlable, trustworthy, and user-friendly. But the rules of engagement have expanded, and a new playbook is emerging.
Building a Dual-Focus SEO Strategy
To navigate this dual reality, marketers need to shift from ranking for keywords to earning relevance in AI discourse. That means complementing your traditional SEO efforts with LLM SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO).
Start by retaining your core SEO pillars:
- Solid technical SEO (site speed, mobile optimisation, secure protocols)
- On-page SEO with compelling metadata and user-friendly structure
- Strategic keyword usage and backlink development
Then, adapt your content strategy to suit the AI layer:
- Create Q&A-style content: Answer specific, intent-driven questions clearly and concisely. This content is ideal for citation in LLM responses.
- Use structured data markup: Implement FAQ and How-To schema to help both search engines and AI systems understand your content at a glance.
- Develop topic clusters: Build authority on specific themes rather than focusing on individual keywords. AI tools prioritise depth and breadth over keyword repetition.
- Optimise for readability: Use subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. These features help AI tools to extract and summarise information effectively.
- Maintain brand consistency: AI engines scan multiple touchpoints. Keep your tone, mission, and messaging uniform across channels to boost brand recognition in AI summaries.
The above strategy is sometimes referred to as Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and is based on the creation of content tailored not just to human readers, but to machine interpreters as well.
Measuring Success in an AI-First World
Here’s the twist: traditional analytics won’t show you the full picture anymore. If your content is being cited by ChatGPT or Gemini, you might not see a direct traffic bump, but your brand’s reach is expanding – just silently.
That’s why we recommend building dual-purpose analytics dashboards that track both:
On one side, you still need to track Google performance as usual:
- Keyword rankings: Where your site appears for key search terms
- Organic clicks and impressions: How many people are finding and clicking your site in Google’s search results
- Bounce rate and session duration: How users behave once they land on your site
But with the rise of AI-generated answers, you also need to monitor your visibility in AI-driven platforms, which often don’t show up in standard web analytics tools. This includes:
- Brand and URL mentions in LLMs: Are AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews referencing your brand as a source?
- Citation frequency: How often does your content get cited in AI responses, regardless of whether users click through?
- AI-specific insights: Using tools like Semrush’s AI Visibility Report, Perplexity’s source attributions, or even setting up custom GPTs to test whether your content appears in model outputs or not.
What you’re aiming for isn’t just visibility – it’s topical authority. The more consistently your brand appears in AI-generated responses, the more trust it builds with users.
The Future Is Hybrid
Search isn’t dying. It’s evolving. Google remains the dominant gateway to online discovery, but its monopoly on traffic is weakening. As LLMs and AI search tools continue to evolve, we’re entering a hybrid era where click-based and answer-based traffic must coexist in every marketing strategy.
At We Do Digital, we help brands future-proof their SEO with smart, layered strategies that serve both worlds. From classic technical optimisation to advanced LLM-ready content, we see to it that you stay visible where it matters most, whether that’s on page one of Google or inside an AI answer box.
Want to learn how your SEO can thrive in an AI-first world? Let’s chat.
Written by Rebekka Strydom, Copywriter at We Do Digital.
