AI Search Is Changing SEO
How We’re Adapting to Help Clients Be Found in ChatGPT and Beyond
We noticed something strange in our analytics—and it changed how we think about search.
A New Traffic Source No One Was Watching
In mid-2024, we started spotting low-volume sessions from platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude. At first, it looked like noise, just a handful of visits.
Then it wasn’t.
By early 2025, AI tools were sending measurable traffic and revenue across multiple clients. And it wasn’t just fluff traffic—it was high-intent discovery.
What we saw:
- A smart home brand jumped to 610 ChatGPT sessions in May, with $3,715 in revenue
- A luxury sleepwear client spiked to 266 sessions from ChatGPT
- A nonprofit went from 0 to 2,000+ sessions across LLMs
- Organic meat and air filter brands saw similar surges, with direct revenue tied to ChatGPT
And none of these clients had done a thing to optimize for AI. It was just starting to happen.
Global Smart Home Brand
Luxury Pajama Company
Non-Profit Organization
Air Filter Company
Search Is Evolving: Fast
Google’s not gone—but the top of the funnel is.
Customers aren’t clicking through multiple links anymore. They’re asking questions naturally (natural-language) in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, and getting instant recommendations, not search results.
“What’s the best air filter for allergies?”
“What smart cameras work with pets?”
“What’s a good gift for a light sleeper?”
Unless your brand is cited in those answers, you’re not part of the conversation.
That’s why we started studying how LLMs find and surface product information, and where current SEO strategies fall short. Here’s what we uncovered:
- Product pages weren’t optimized for “zero-context” AI landings
- Broken product feeds were hurting visibility across both Google Shopping and ChatGPT
- Missing affiliate content meant missed opportunities in AI-cited review roundups
- Revenue from AI tools was coming in, but not being tracked or understood
LLMs still represent a small share of total traffic. But the growth curve is steep, the visibility is real, and the brands showing up early are gaining ground fast.
Adapting SEO for the Next Layer of Discovery
We’ve launched a new AI Search Optimization service to help ecommerce brands show up where discovery is already happening: in AI-generated answers.
“AI search optimization focuses on making your brand and content discoverable within generative tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, platforms that are quickly redefining how consumers explore products and make purchase decisions.”
Jon Nastor
Founder & Head of Strategy, DCP
While traditional SEO still matters, it no longer covers the full search journey. Today, buyers are discovering products through AI-generated recommendations, not just search result pages.
When someone asks, “What’s the best smart camera for pet owners?” or “Where can I buy luxury pajamas made from organic cotton?” AI tools provide a direct answer.
If your brand isn’t cited, you’re not seen.
To help brands stay visible across this new layer of discovery, we now offer:
- LLM visibility audits to identify where (and if) your brand shows up
- Product page infrastructure upgrades to support zero-context landings
- Product feed + schema optimization for structured, AI-readable data
- High-authority content strategies to influence AI-cited affiliate content
- Prompt simulation and response analysis to close citation gaps
You’re not replacing SEO—you’re expanding it.
AI search visibility is the next frontier. And we’re helping brands get there.