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Module 1 · Lesson 1.4 · What AI traffic is worth · 3 min

What traffic from ChatGPT and AI is really worth

Lesson 1.4 of the free AEO and GEO course: what traffic from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity is really worth. Volumes, each assistant's share, conversion compared with organic (including the data that disagrees), and how to measure it on your own site in GA4.

The video for this lesson is coming soon to YouTube. Meanwhile, the full transcript is right here.

Transcript

0:00Introduction

Lesson 1.4: what AI traffic is worth.

0:05How much traffic

Let's start with volume. Today, traffic from AI assistants is still small compared to Google. But it's growing fast. According to Similarweb data reported by TechCrunch, in June 2025 AI platforms sent 1.13 billion visits to the world's top thousand websites: 357% more than a year earlier. And ChatGPT alone accounted for more than 80% of those visits.

0:32Not just ChatGPT

But who sends that traffic is changing. In Goodie's data on B2B brands, in March and April 2026 ChatGPT made up 62.6% of AI traffic. Eight months earlier, it was 89.1%. Over the same period, Claude went from 1.4% to 18.5%. Gemini had 10.6%, and Perplexity 7.3%. If you optimize for just one engine, you're ignoring a growing share of the traffic.

1:02Does it convert better?

Does it convert better? Usually, yes. But by less than the headlines say. In the broadest study, 78 sites analyzed by Siege Media in 2026, AI traffic converted at a median of 1.26 times organic. In ecommerce, 1.01 times: practically the same. The headline numbers come from single sites: for example, a B2B client of Seer Interactive, where ChatGPT converted at 15.9%, against 1.76% for organic. A real case, but only one case.

1:40The data that disagrees

And the data doesn't all point the same way. Across 973 online stores, between 2024 and 2025, visits from ChatGPT converted worse than almost every traditional channel: they only beat paid social. But in Adobe's retail data for July 2026, visits from AI converted 60% better than other visits. The picture is changing fast.

2:07Measure your own site

So the practical takeaway is just one: measure your own site. In GA4, you create a channel group for AI assistants, and compare it with organic, on the same goal. Knowing that many visits leave no trace. And that, according to McKinsey, only 16% of brands systematically track their presence in AI search: doing it already puts you ahead.

2:30Your task for today

Your task for today: in GA4, open Acquisition, and then Traffic acquisition. Look for visits coming from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com and copilot.microsoft.com. Write down visits and conversions for the last ninety days: that's your starting point.

3:02Next lesson

Module 1 is done. In the next lesson: Module 2, where we start measuring, with the right questions to track. See you there.

Your task

In GA4, open Acquisition, and then Traffic acquisition. Look for visits coming from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com and copilot.microsoft.com. Write down visits and conversions for the last ninety days: that's your starting point.

Track it in the course worksheet.

Sources

Checked 17 October 2026.

End of module 1: the quiz

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