Artificial intelligence
The advent of ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs) has changed the landscape of digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). While marketers traditionally focus on improving click-through rates (CTR) and direct traffic to their sites, ChatGPT presents an intriguing phenomenon: a direct CTR often below 1%, masking a surprisingly powerful and often decisive role in the user’s conversion journey. This paradox is forcing companies to rethink their content and acquisition strategies. How can a platform generating so few direct clicks be such an essential conversion driver? Let’s delve into the depths of this digital conundrum.
The first key to understanding this paradox lies in the very nature of ChatGPT. Unlike a traditional search engine like Google, which returns a list of links to web pages, ChatGPT aims to provide comprehensive, synthesized answers directly to the user. When an Internet user asks ChatGPT a question, he or she receives elaborate information, often sufficient to satisfy his or her immediate need, without having to click on an external link.
Zero click” is a well-known concept in SEO, where users find the answer to their query directly in Google’s search results page (SERP), without visiting a website. ChatGPT takes this concept to the extreme. Users are no longer confronted with a list of excerpts, but with fluid, informative writing. This way of consuming information mechanically reduces the need to click, hence the low direct CTR. Users get what they’re looking for instantly, which is a highly rewarding user experience.
Traditional marketing models envisage a linear customer journey: search → click → visit → conversion. With ChatGPT, this path becomes more sinuous, more diffuse. Artificial intelligence becomes an intermediary, a crucial point of contact that informs, educates and influences, often without the user realizing its origin or clicking directly to the primary source of information.
Despite a low direct CTR, ChatGPT’s influence on conversion is far from negligible. Its impact manifests itself at different stages of the customer journey, acting as a powerful but often invisible catalyst.
ChatGPT excels at introducing new ideas, concepts, products or services to users. A person asking AI about “the best project management solutions” or “how to improve team productivity” may be exposed to tools or methods they didn’t know existed. ChatGPT, by synthesizing information from multiple sources, can introduce a brand or product into the user’s consciousness at a very early stage, well before any active research.
Users turn to ChatGPT for in-depth research. They can ask for product comparisons, feature analyses, explanations of complex concepts or even summarized “opinions”. For example, someone wavering between two smartphones might ask ChatGPT to list their advantages and disadvantages. The information provided by the AI can then significantly influence the user’s preference, preparing them to make an informed decision. The quality and relevance of the information assimilated by ChatGPT is therefore of paramount importance.
When a brand, product or service is systematically mentioned in a positive or relevant way by ChatGPT in response to various queries, this boosts user confidence. If the AI, perceived as objective and omniscient, implicitly validates an offer, this lends enormous credibility. A user who asks ChatGPT about “reliable air purifier brands” and sees your brand appear regularly in the responses will develop a positive perception.
This is one of the most crucial roles. After obtaining relevant information from ChatGPT, the user has developed a better understanding of his need and possible solutions. He may not click directly from the AI, but he leaves ChatGPT with a clear intention and a refined search query. For example, after learning from an AI that “training X” is best for his career, he will then go to Google to search for “training X [name of organization]” or “training X reviews”. ChatGPT has thus generated a highly qualified search intent that will lead to a conversion on another channel.
Faced with this paradox, SEO experts need to reassess their approaches. It’s no longer just a question of tracking CTR, but of understanding how to influence AI so that it becomes an ally in the conversion journey.
Your content must be easily digestible by LLMs. This means clear, concise, structured writing with headings (h2, h3), short paragraphs (p), lists, and definitions. Information should be factual and well-sourced. The aim is for ChatGPT to extract the essence of your content and deliver it faithfully and accurately.
ChatGPT tends to favor reliable and authoritative sources. Make sure your content is expertly written, regularly updated and demonstrates genuine expertise. Quality backlinks and mentions of your brand by other reliable sources remain more important than ever to establish your authority.
Think less about the exact keywords and more about users’ topics and intentions. Anticipate the complex questions users might ask ChatGPT and create content that answers them comprehensively. Content must be designed to answer the questions “why” and “how”, not just “what”.
It’s crucial to develop new metrics to assess ChatGPT’s influence. This includes monitoring brand mentions in AI responses (where possible), analyzing “post-ChatGPT” search queries on traditional search engines that include your brand, or attributing conversions to more indirect touchpoints in the customer journey.
Use semantic HTML tags. Structure your FAQs. Provide clear definitions. Consider integrating structured data (Schema.org) to make it easier for AIs to understand and extract information. Each element of your content should be a building block that the AI can use.
The ChatGPT paradox is a powerful reminder that the digital landscape is constantly evolving. Low direct CTR is not a sign of inefficiency, but rather an indicator of a fundamental shift in the way users search for and consume information. ChatGPT, with its ability to synthesize, educate and influence at key stages of the customer journey, has established itself as a decisive player in the conversion process.
For marketers and SEO professionals, the challenge is no longer just to capture a click, but to influence the conversation. It’s about ensuring that, when users turn to AI for advice or information, your brand, products and expertise are not only present, but also presented in the most favorable and relevant way possible. It’s an era in which indirect influence is the new measure of success.