How to Get More Conversions from Generative AI or AI Search Using SEO?

Most marketers are panicking about AI killing SEO. They’re wrong.

I learned this the hard way when ChatGPT launched in November 2022. My first instinct? Pure terror. I watched our organic traffic dip by 15% in January 2023, and I thought, “Well, that’s it. Game over.”

But then something interesting happened—our conversion rates actually increased by 23% over the next six months.

Here’s what I discovered: AI isn’t killing SEO conversions. It’s just changing who shows up at your digital doorstep and what they expect when they get there.

The New Reality: AI-Informed Searchers Are Different

Let me paint you a picture of what’s happening right now. Your potential customers aren’t just Googling “best email marketing tools” anymore. They’re having conversations with AI tools first, getting educated, and then coming to Google with laser-focused intent.

I first noticed this pattern in our analytics around March 2023. Search queries were getting longer, more specific, and frankly, smarter.

Instead of “email marketing tools,” people were searching for things like: “email marketing tools for Saas companies with advanced segmentation and Shopify integration under $200/month.” This shift changes everything about how we approach SEO for conversions.

Understanding the AI-SEO Conversion Funnel

Think of it this way, the traditional SEO funnel looked like a wide mouth narrowing down. People started with broad questions, you educated them, and—if all went well—you converted them somewhere along the way.

The AI-era funnel, however, looks more like an hourglass. AI tools now handle the broad education phase. The middle gets extremely narrow with highly specific searches, and then it widens again as people arrive much closer to making a decision.

I call this the “AI-assisted buyer journey”—and it has three distinct phases:

Phase 1: AI Education (happens outside your website)

People use ChatGPT, Claude, or other AI tools to understand their problems and explore potential solutions. You have zero control at this stage—but you do need to understand how it impacts you.

Example: Before AI

Top Funnel (Education queries)

Query: What is email marketing automation?

Visitors: 10,000

Conversion: ~1% (newsletter signups, guides) → 100 leads

Example: After AI

AI answers most basic “what is email marketing” queries → fewer land on Google.

Visitors: 6,000 (down from 10k)

Conversion: ~1.5% (better quality traffic) → 90 leads

Phase 2: Specific Search (this is where SEO matters most)

Armed with AI-generated knowledge, people now search for highly specific solutions. This is your golden opportunity.

Example:

Before AI

Query: “ActiveCampaign vs Brevo vs Omnisend”

Visitors: 3,000

Conversion: ~2–3% → 75 leads

After AI

AI handles most comparisons directly.

Query: “ActiveCampaign vs Brevo vs Omnisend”

Visitors: 1,000 (down from 3k)

Conversion: ~4–5% (higher intent) → 45 leads

Phase 3: High-Intent Evaluation (conversion stage)

They arrive at your site with much more context and clearly defined needs. At this stage, your job is simple: quickly prove you’re the right fit.

Example: Before AI

Query: “Active Campaign pricing plan 5,000 contacts”

Visitors: 1,000

Conversion: ~3–4% → 35 paid/free trial signups

Example: After AI

People still Google to confirm pricing & sign up.

Visitors: 2,000 (up from 1k — because AI funnels more serious buyers here)

Conversion: ~6–8% → 140 paid/free trial signups

Strategies to Improve Conversions in the AI Era

AI has changed when and how people arrive on your site. That means your strategy can’t just be about driving traffic anymore—it has to be about capturing and converting high-intent visitors. Here are a few ways to adapt:

Strategy 1 Feeding the Models: Make Content AI-Friendly

AI assistants need clean, structured data to understand & cite you.

• Use tables for pricing + features.

• Add FAQ sections with direct Q&A (AI often lifts these).

• Implement Schema Markup:

  • Product (tool name, description, pricing)

  • Offer (plans, discounts)

  • Review (ratings, testimonials)

  • FAQ (common customer questions). Example: On Brevo’s pricing page, mark up “$25/month for 20,000 emails” with Offer schema.

Strategy 2: Target AI-Informed Keywords

Here’s what I mean by AI-informed keywords: these are search terms people use after they’ve already been educated by AI tools.

Last year, I started tracking which keywords converted best for our clients—and the pattern was clear. Specific, technical, comparison-heavy terms were absolutely outperforming generic keywords in conversion rates.

For example, instead of targeting “project management software,” we shifted focus to “project management software vs Monday.com for remote teams with time tracking.” That single keyword phrase converted at 8.3% compared to 1.2% for the generic term.

So, how do you find these keywords? I spend time inside AI tools myself, asking the same questions my customers would ask. Then, I look at the specific recommendations AI provides and build content around those comparisons and use cases.

Strategy 3: Create “AI-Proof” Content That Actually Converts

Most people think AI-proof content means writing something AI can’t replicate. That’s backward thinking.

AI-proof content for conversions is about creating pages that serve people who are already AI-educated—buyers looking for specific proof points, social validation, and clear paths to purchase.

Last summer, I rebuilt our main service pages using what I call the “Post-AI Content Framework.”

• Skip the 101-level education. Don’t explain what email marketing is. Your visitors already know

• Lead with specific outcomes. Say with “We helped Company X increase email revenue by 340% in 90 days” instead of “Email marketing is important for businesses.”

• Answer the comparison questions directly. Create sections like “Why choose us over [specific competitor]” with real data.

• Include technical specifications upfront. People already know the features they need. List them clearly.

• Showcase real customer scenarios. Use case studies that match the specific problems people searched for.

This approach increased our conversion rate from organic traffic by 67% between August and December 2023.

Struggling to implement this framework on your own? I help businesses redesign their SEO content strategy for the AI era. If you’re seeing declining organic conversions or want to get ahead of this shift, let’s talk about how we can rebuild your content to capture AI-informed searchers.

Strategy 4: Optimize for AI Citation and Reference

Here’s something most people miss: AI tools are becoming search engines themselves. People ask ChatGPT for recommendations, and if your content gets cited, you win.

I discovered this accidentally in April 2023. Our comprehensive guide on “SaaS customer onboarding metrics” started getting mentioned in ChatGPT responses. As a result our organic traffic for related terms jumped 185% over the next three months.

So, how do you optimize for AI citation? Create content that AI tools love to reference:

• Use clear, quotable statistics with sources. AI tools favor specific, well-cited data points.

• Write definitive “how-to” sections with step-by-step processes. Make it easy for AI to extract and share your methodology.

• Include current dates and examples. Fresh, specific content is more likely to be cited.

• Structure information with clear headers and bullet points. This makes your content easier for AI to parse and reference.

But here’s the key: when people come to your site from AI-driven searches, they’re not coming to learn the basics. They’re coming to verify, compare, and convert.

Strategy 5: Speed Up the Trust-Building Process

Traditional SEO content used to build trust slowly—often across multiple pages. But AI-informed visitors don’t have time for that journey.

I learned this firsthand when analyzing our heat maps in late 2023. Visitors were spending far less time on educational content but significantly more time on comparison pages, pricing pages, and social proof sections.

That’s why your homepage and landing pages need to establish credibility within seconds. I now restructure client pages using what I call the “Instant Trust Architecture”:

• Lead with recognizable client logos or impressive metrics (above the fold, always).

• Include video testimonials from real customers discussing specific results.

• Show transparent pricing or, at the very least, clear paths to pricing information.

• Display recent customer wins with dates and specific outcomes.

• Make your contact/demo process friction less with calendly links, instant chat, or phone numbers.

The Technical SEO Side of AI-Era Conversions

Don’t ignore the technical foundation. AI-informed users have higher expectations for site performance and user experience.

Core Web Vitals matter more than ever because people are less patient. If your page takes more than two seconds to load, they’ll bounce back to search results—and with so many options available, you won’t get a second chance.

I also pay obsessive attention to mobile optimization now. AI tool usage skews heavily toward mobile, which means a growing share of your organic traffic is coming from phones and tablets.

And for the love of all that’s holy, make sure your site works seamlessly with voice search. More people are using voice commands after AI conversations—and those queries tend to be longer and more conversational.

Need a technical SEO audit to ensure your site can handle AI-informed traffic? I specialize in optimizing websites for the new search behaviors emerging from AI usage. Most agencies overlook these technical nuances, but they can make or break your conversion rates.

Measuring Success in the AI Era

Traditional SEO metrics don’t tell the full story anymore. I track conversion metrics differently now:

• Time from first visit to conversion - It’s gotten shorter—people decide faster

• Pages per session for converting visitors - it’s fewer pages but higher engagement per page

• Bounce rate by traffic source - organic traffic quality has improved but volume patterns have changed

• Customer lifetime value by acquisition channel - AI-informed customers often have higher LTV because they’re better qualified

• Keyword difficulty vs. conversion rate correlation - long-tail, specific keywords often convert better despite lower difficulty scores

  
  

Want help setting up these tracking systems? Most businesses are still measuring SEO success with outdated metrics. I work with companies to implement conversion-focused analytics that actually reveal what’s working in the AI era. Let’s audit your current tracking and build dashboards that matter.

What’s Coming Next

I’ll be honest—I don’t know exactly what search will look like in two years. But I do know this: the businesses that win will be the ones that treat AI as a pre-search education tool, not a replacement for search.

The opportunity right now is massive. While most marketers panic about AI killing their traffic, the smart ones are optimizing for AI-educated visitors who show up ready to buy.

Start with your highest-converting keywords. Look at the terms that already drive results, then create more specific, comparison-heavy content around those topics. Test landing pages that assume visitors already know the basics and focus purely on proof and differentiation.

The AI boom isn’t killing SEO conversions—it’s raising the bar for what counts as conversion-worthy content. And honestly? That’s probably a good thing.

Ready to adapt your SEO strategy for AI-informed searchers? The businesses making this transition now will dominate their markets for the next five years. Don’t wait until your competitors catch up.