AI Search Traffic Converts Better Than Google

Surfer Wave 228; AI Search Traffic Studies; Reddit Hit By Google Updates; AI-Driven Super Bowl Ads; AI News Summaries Have Issues; and Much More!

Author

Yoyao
February 15, 2025 • Est. Learning Time: 16 minutes

FIRST …

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SEO

Albert Gouyet explores the shift in AI-powered search as OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity refine their conversational capabilities. He dives into various industries—e-commerce, B2B tech, education, and healthcare—to illustrate distinct approaches to conversational queries. The key takeaways include:

  • ChatGPT Search delivers comprehensive narratives and detailed answers that go beyond basic facts, offering context and depth.

  • Google AI Overviews excel at organizing complex information into clear, hierarchical sections.

  • Perplexity integrates visual elements and bullet-point summaries, making technical or detailed subjects easier to grasp at a glance.

He advises marketers and content creators to build detailed, structured content that aligns with these AI systems.

He dives into various industries—e-commerce, B2B tech, education, and healthcare—to illustrate distinct approaches to conversational queries. His actionable tips urge marketers to create structured, context-rich content and to optimize for real-time engagement across platforms. By tailoring content to each AI's strengths, brands can enhance visibility and drive deeper connections with their audience.

AI-driven search isn’t just growing—it’s converting better than traditional search. Kevin Indig dives into a dataset of over 7 million referral sessions from ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity, revealing that AI chatbot traffic engages longer, views more pages, and drives stronger transactional intent. The main takeaway? Brands need to start optimizing for AI-driven discovery now. Here are key stats:

  • AI chatbot traffic stays 2.3 minutes longer than Google search visitors.

  • Chatbot referrals generate 12.4 page views per session vs. Google’s 11.8.

  • Microsoft Copilot has the highest engagement with 11.6 minutes per session on average.

  • AI referrals send 22% of traffic to homepages, compared to Google’s 10%.

  • Perplexity and Copilot page views grew 15% and 22%, surpassing Google’s 5% growth.

  • Chatbots direct users deeper into site architecture, impacting UX and SEO strategy.

  • AI search results heavily favor established players like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart.

Jonathan Vanian explains how a sudden Google algorithm tweak shook up Reddit’s Q4 user numbers and sent shares tumbling over 15%. Despite a 39% yearly growth in logged-out users to 101.7m average, they were short of Wall Street estimates of 103.1m. All because of volatility from Google search updates.

After Reddit announced earnings, Glenn Gabe ran some numbers and thinks OpenAI is probably paying $70m in a licensing deal.

Reddit is also planning to roll out a paywall this year. Would you pay for it?

My Take: It’s probably just Google saying, “don’t forget we need to renegotiate our deal.” It was almost a year ago (Feb. 21-23-ish, 2024) when the Google and Reddit $60m deal was announced, which means they were negotiating much earlier than that…like Q4. Google has all the leverage here.

SEO Ripples

  • John Mueller clarifies that seeing URLs with #anchor hashtags in Search Console isn’t a red flag. They are simply deep links to specific sections of a page, sometimes reported in place of the canonical URL. This insight helps SEOs understand that mixed reporting is normal and not a sign of indexing issues.

  • Google Search feeling slow? Don’t worry! Google just announced that they’re testing new pre-fetching methods that will make search results appear faster by 67 milliseconds.

  • Anna Crowe breaks down the difference between “Blocked by robots.txt” (completely hidden from search) and “Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt” (Google indexed it anyway) in GSC. To fix the issues, she discusses to audit flagged URLs, determine if blocking was intentional, and adjust your robots.txt file accordingly. The key is balancing crawl control with indexing intent—so Google ranks what you want and ignores what you don’t.

  • Microsoft updated Bing Webmaster Tools with a more accessible date selector in performance reports—no more digging through menus. Now, selecting date ranges is quick and intuitive, saving you time when analyzing traffic and indexing trends.

  • In some potential good news for affiliate marketers, Google is testing adding links to review articles in product results. Sometimes a snippet too.

AI

AI-powered news summaries aren’t as reliable as they seem. A BBC analysis of AI-generated news summaries from ChatGPT-4o, Microsoft Copilot Pro, Google Gemini, and Perplexity found that 51% of responses contained major inaccuracies—from mangled quotes to outdated information. Some of the key takeaways:

  • Google Gemini had the highest error rate, exceeding 60%.

  • AI often misquotes sources and misrepresents facts.

  • Editorial bias was found, with AI adding subjective language.

  • Factual errors included outdated or incorrect statistics.

  • 13% of AI citations were altered or nonexistent in the source material.

  • Perplexity performed best, but still had over 40% inaccuracies.

This year’s most expensive ad slots were dominated by AI-powered storytelling, with OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Salesforce making big-budget plays. OpenAI’s first-ever Super Bowl ad positioned ChatGPT as the next major tech revolution, while Google showcased Gemini’s role in everyday life. Meta leaned on celebrity power for its Ray-Ban AI glasses, and Salesforce took a jab at AI overload. See the commercials in the article link. Here’s OpenAI’s:

Various OpenAI Updates:

  • Sam Altman tweets GPT-4.5 (Orion) coming next. Then GPT-5 to replace a separate o3 launch.

  • Raised o3-mini-high limits by 7x for Plus users to up to 50 per day

  • ChatGPT o1 and o3-mini now support both file & image uploads

  • Deep Research will initially offer 10 uses/mo for Plus and 2/mo for Free when released.

Various Google AI Updates:

AI Ripples

  • OpenAI’s latest Model Spec is out. The doc defines the principles how they want their AI models to behave across a range of scenarios.

  • OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI, calling it a move to "disrupt competition" rather than a genuine takeover. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, has been at odds with the organization over its transition to a for-profit model, even filing a lawsuit alleging it strayed from its nonprofit mission.

  • Adobe’s Firefly Video Model is now available in public beta. Users can create AI-generated videos from text prompts and images, with control over camera angles, motion effects, and scene composition. It’s integrated with Premiere Pro and Adobe Express and has 1080p video generation, with 4K capabilities coming soon.

MARKETING

Dan Oshinsky shares how smart brands deploy eight different types of emails to engage, convert, and retain their audience. He breaks them down: Traffic-driving emails boost site visits, destination emails keep readers in the inbox, and alerts deliver breaking news. Courses and pop-up newsletters educate or capitalize on trending topics, while transactional emails, automations, and marketing emails drive revenue.

Garrett Sussman discusses how Mountain Dew dominated conversational search channels during the Super Bowl. By releasing early ad teasers and strategically partnering with authoritative media, the brand captured 46% of AI-driven visibility. He says that brands must monitor these platforms in real time, tailor content to each platform’s quirks, and diversify formats to effectively shape their narrative and visibility.

Ana Valens explores the world of VTubing, where digital avatars create unique online personas. She explains the five essentials to get started: choosing a VTuber model, capturing software like VTube Studio or VSeeFace, streaming tools such as OBS, a quality microphone, and a webcam. Valens also compares options for creating avatars—from free 3D models in VRoid Studio to customizable Live2D designs—and discusses cost considerations.

LINK BUILDING

Vince Nero lays out a clear strategy for navigating the evolving landscape of AI and digital PR. Amid lawsuits by major publishers against AI companies, Vince advises continuing to secure coverage from reputable, high-authority sources. He explains that legal battles will take years to resolve and that quality, relevant links still matter for SEO. Instead of abandoning trusted publications, focus on building strong digital relationships and robust link profiles.

Bill Hartzer explains Bitly’s latest change that introduces preview pages with ads before users reach their intended sites. He details actionable tips for preserving SEO performance, urging upgrades or alternative URL shorteners. Bill also outlines how the extra step may reduce click-through rates, impact user experience, and ultimately affect digital marketing strategies.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Andy Crestodina covers how to leverage LinkedIn’s low-friction newsletter feature for rapid brand growth. He says that LinkedIn’s built-in subscription mechanism simplifies audience building, letting you bypass traditional email list hurdles. He recommends repurposing blog content, optimizing visuals, and crafting compelling titles and descriptions that clearly convey value.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Zyppy List - Cyrus Shepard unveils his directory for marketing professionals and businesses that breaks away from traditional pay-to-rank schemes. Zyppy List offers free, thorough verification and authentic, community-powered endorsements.

EDUCATION

Jared Bauman interviews Niche Site Lady on her blueprint to generating revenue from her travel blog without relying on Google. She advises swapping bland, question-based headlines for attention-grabbing titles that spark FOMO, and reformatting content to suit Facebook’s scrolling audience by overlaying text on images. She also outlines strategies to de-optimize over-SEO’d articles, diversify traffic channels through email and social media, and leverage lead magnets and automation to grow subscriber lists.

If you’re hoping for a face reveal, you’ll be disappointed 🤦 But still a good listen.

BUSINESS IDEAS

Charlotte Colombo shows the growth of Roblox’s creator economy, paying out nearly $1 billion to creators, with revenue sharing of 50-70% for experience games and a new affiliate link program to boost earnings further. Far more than a children’s game, Roblox is a dynamic hub where creative entrepreneurs build digital experiences and earn substantial rewards. She discusses leveraging Roblox’s ecosystem, emphasizing quality content, strategic engagement, and smart monetization tactics that can transform creative passion into serious profit. .

NEWS

Roger Montti shares that the WordPress foundation’s bid to trademark “Hosted WordPress” and “Managed WordPress” has been rejected by the USPTO, a setback that, however, leaves room for an appeal. He explains that the denial stems from the descriptive nature of these terms, which simply describe services rather than brand identity.

WAYS WE CAN WORK TOGETHER

Floyi - The only AI-powered tool that builds 4-level topical maps, so your content strategy isn’t just planned—it’s unstoppable.

Topical Maps Unlocked 2.0 - The blueprint for ranking dominance. Learn how to structure content the way search engines (and audiences) crave.

Topical Map Service - We handle the research, structure, and strategy—delivering a custom topical map that builds authority, so your content dominates its niche

Content Strategy and SEO Consulting – No guesswork, no gimmicks—just you and me, refining your strategy into a clear, proven roadmap for traffic, authority, and conversions.

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