Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)/Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO) all fall under the umbrella of AI-powered search. AI-powered search and chat are fundamentally changing product discovery and ecommerce. This shift is creating a massive opportunity for those ready to act, but may also cause major issues for companies that ignore this evolution.
Imagine this moment repeating millions of times a day: a shopper asks ChatGPT, “What’s the best sustainable denim under $150?” The AI delivers brand options, pricing, and recommendations, completely skipping traditional search, never finding your site, and instead influencing purchase decisions directly. Even shoppers still starting at Google are being met with AI summaries, never having to scroll down to PPC ads or organic links.
This shift has already changed how customers find and choose products. GEO and AIO-driven referrals are converting at two to five times the rate of traditional search. More than half of consumers now rely on AI for product discovery, and that number has been doubling year over year. Early movers are seeing brand mentions climb 40 to 60 percent. Some estimates believe AI traffic will surpass Google search by 2027, but the clear majority of companies don’t have a strategy to even measure the impact.
The evidence is clear: this is a shift in behavior as significant as Google’s rise or the adoption of mobile devices. Being successful in this new world means investment in technical foundations, rethinking content, building new measurement frameworks, and bringing in specialized talent or agencies.
Traffic –> Authority
Customers no longer bounce through multiple blue links to get the answers they are looking for. Instead, they pose the question to Siri or a search bar and are given a recommendation. Increasing sales moves from “How much traffic can we get?” to “Are we the answer AI recommends?” It’s less about ranking and keywords and more about authority. AI referrals seem to convert at a much higher rate, but they are much less likely to happen.
Conversion quality improves because AI-referred customers are further down the funnel and have a clear intent. As a result, raw traffic volume matters less. It’s more about inclusion higher in the funnel before the user has even seen your website. Instead of focusing on call-to-actions and direct conversions, published content trains models and influences customers indirectly. This means all content has added value, but also makes feedback cycles harder to track.
Studies show that…
- AI-referred customers convert at 5.5% vs 3.7% from traditional search engines. (Amsive, 2025 AI & Search report)
- 50-60% of Google searches now end without a click as AI overviews are sufficient. (SparkToro + Similarweb, 2024 Zero-Click Searches study; AI Overviews impact on CTR: Seer Interactive, 2025 analysis.)
Where AI Gets Its Answers
AI models are trained on every piece of information companies can find, the majority of which comes directly from the internet. Today, that heavily favors community discussion and structured data from trusted websites.
Top sources:
- Reddit dominates citations across AI systems. Reddit has signed content-sharing contracts with major AI companies. Some estimates believe that Reddit commands ~40% of all AI citations across platforms, more than Wikipedia, YouTube, and News sources combined.
- Structured, scannable formats like lists, comparisons, and specification sheets are easier to extract and cite, making them a favorite for LLM models. Listicles, an old favorite of social media, are making a comeback.
- Video and transcripts (especially YouTube) influence responses. The video itself has a strong impact on visual-first responses.
How to participate:
- Create useful and factual content and discussions, both on your website and across the web.
- Participate in online discussions. Earn trust in relevant communities, be useful, and always avoid promotional tone or content. Both users and AI can see through blatant spamming on the internet.
- Write and publish canonical explainers and technical documentation.
- Use a hierarchical structure, clear headings, tables, and a consistent schema to make extraction trivial.
- Realize that a backlink is not necessary for AI. It will understand the context and help with brand authority even without a backlink or call-to-action.
Platform specifics:
- ChatGPT prefers Reddit discussions, authoritative summaries, technical docs, and well-structured crawlable pages.
- Perplexity looks for video demonstrations, real-time info, and highlights active or recent discussions.
- Google AI overviews lean on community validation (often Reddit), Q&A formats, and user-generated content.
Put time and energy into sharing useful content across the internet. It’s not enough to stay in our own bubbles. We must ensure our brands and products are exposed to popular websites and communities.