ChatGPT as a search engine is changing how people find information—and how companies become visible. If you want to generate leads today, you need to understand how AI-based search works. In this article, you will learn why this topic is important for your marketing—and how you can benefit from it with a clear strategy and tracking.
Summary
- Generative AI and OpenAI instead of Google: How search behavior is changing via search engines
- Initial data shows: ChatGPT is becoming the standard search engine and driving traffic
- Become visible in ChatGPT Search – SEO or paid?
- The arguments in comparison
- Data supports the recommendation
- Recommended action – Step by step to more leads with ChatGPT & Co
- Step 1: Launch an immediate paid campaign
- Step 2: Systematically expand SEO in parallel
- Step 3: Measure success & manage your budget intelligently
- Step 4: Optimize iteratively and achieve greater success with ChatGPT search
- Our assessment
- Lead Tracking in GA4: How matelso makes LLM traffic visible and measurable
- The advantages of the matelso platform for measurable marketing and better ROI
- Conclusion: If you don’t measure, you lose – and the AI in ChatGPT has a say in the matter.
Current user figures show the scale of the change
According to DemandSage, Google processes around 13.7 billion search queries every day – that’s more than 400 million per hour. According to DemandSage, ChatGPT recorded around 122 million daily active users in July 2025 – and the trend is still growing.
Google is also increasingly focusing on AI-supported search.
With the introduction of AI Overviews and AI Mode, answers are increasingly displayed directly in the search engine—without the need to click on a website. This further blurs the line between traditional search and LLM logic.
Why ChatGPT is now becoming important as a search engine
Generative AI, OpenAI & Co. instead of Google: How search behavior is changing via search engines
Users are increasingly asking their questions directly to ChatGPT rather than using traditional search engines. AI provides clear, precise answers rather than lists of links. It reads faster and responds better. If you want to be visible in AI, you have to play along.
Initial data shows: ChatGPT is becoming the standard search engine and driving traffic
ChatGPT has long been actively redirecting users to websites, thereby measurably influencing traffic. Those who do not appear there lose visibility and potential leads.
Recent studies show that ChatGPT now drives traffic to many websites. Semrush analyzed around 80 million click paths and came to a clear conclusion: the number of domains recommended daily via ChatGPT has risen from around 10,000 to over 30,000. This shows how powerful ChatGPT already is as a source of traffic. At the same time, a report by Semrush shows that 50% of all ChatGPT links refer to business or service sites.
In addition, a study by Exploding Topics predicts that LLM-based search could generate 75% of revenue traffic by 2028. The consensus is that LLM traffic could surpass traditional organic traffic by 2027.
All of this proves that conversations no longer start with a Google search, but often in a chat window – namely ChatGPT, Claude & Co. This is precisely why companies need to make themselves visible there – especially B2B companies.
Become visible in ChatGPT Search – SEO or paid?
Our recommendation: Pay first, then systematically expand SEO
Based on recent studies, the most effective strategy is to use paid advertising for a quick reach boost while simultaneously building up SEO specifically for LLM visibility. This will ensure short-term success and lay the foundation for a stable long-term presence in AI search results.
Important to note: Paid and SEO are not mutually exclusive—both measures follow similar principles in terms of target groups, content, and semantic alignment. A good SEO concept therefore lays the foundation for successful paid campaigns—and vice versa.
The arguments in comparison
| Measure | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Paid Ads |
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| SEO |
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| Hybrid-strategy |
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Another important point for ads in AI search: To be displayed in the long term under AI overviews or for super long-tail keywords, highly relevant keyword options are essential. This is the only way the system can understand the relevance of your ad to complex user queries.
Paid advertising gives you a quick boost, while SEO ensures long-term visibility in AI searches. Combine the two cleverly and you will dominate new areas of visibility.
Data supports the recommendation
- According to Semrush, traditional SEO drives almost 70% of visibility in LLMs – so good SEO is already LLM-relevant.
- According to Seer Interactive, LLM traffic converts up to 9 times better than Google Organic (16% vs. 1.8%).
- At the same time, platforms such as Perplexity & Microsoft Copilot are already planning advertising integration – paid advertising is becoming more relevant.
Recommended action – Step by step to more leads with ChatGPT & Co
Step 1: Launch an immediate paid campaign
To quickly become visible in AI searches, there is no way around paid campaigns. They draw attention to your brand and generate important signals that LLMs such as ChatGPT also register.
- Promote high-quality content in a targeted manner, e.g., tutorials, FAQs, or case studies that answer specific questions from your target audience.
- Use paid reach via Google Ads, LinkedIn, or display networks to drive targeted traffic to these pages.
- The goal is to generate visibility and indirectly activate ChatGPT potential—through increased brand awareness and engagement signals.
Step 2: Systematically expand SEO in parallel
Paid alone is not enough. To maintain a long-term presence on ChatGPT & Co., your content must be structured, relevant, and discoverable—not for search engines, but for answers.
- Convert existing content into Q&A formats: Ask key questions—and provide clear, structured answers.
- Work with subheadings, bullet points, tables, and lists – LLMs “understand” such formats better than continuous text.
- Strengthen your authority: Build backlinks, ensure mentions of your brand, and create semantic relevance through targeted keyword use.
Step 3: Measure success & manage your budget intelligently
Without data, there can be no control. Those who don’t measure lose out – especially in new channels such as AI search.
- Set up your own channel groups or custom dimensions for LLM sources in Google Analytics 4.
- Compare performance: Which traffic delivers more leads – SEO or paid? How do click prices and conversion rates differ?
- Use the results to make budget decisions – data-driven and transparent.
Step 4: Optimize iteratively and achieve greater success with ChatGPT search
Nothing stays the same. AI search is evolving—and so should your strategy. It is crucial that you respond flexibly and in a data-driven manner.
- Focus your paid campaigns on the content that performs best – with an eye on leads, not just clicks.
- Revise SEO content based on real performance data: Adjust structure, headlines, wording, or semantic alignment.
- Schedule regular reviews – at least quarterly – to catch new developments in ChatGPT, Perplexity & Co. early on.
Our assessment
If you want to quickly stand out in AI searches, paid advertising is the best option: fast, controllable, effective. For long-term visibility in ChatGPT & Co., it’s best to develop your SEO strategy in parallel – ideally based on real user questions and high-quality content. Both combine to form a performance strategy: quickly noticeable results + sustainable success.
Lead tracking with the matelso platform
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Keep an eye on AI search with matelso
Lead Tracking in GA4: How matelso makes LLM traffic visible and measurable
Matelso reveals what other tools often fail to show: how many leads came to the website through recommendations from AI systems such as ChatGPT. As soon as a user clicks on a link suggested by an LLM and lands on the page, the lead tracking integrated into the matelso software can recognize this connection. If this visit then triggers a call, email, or chat from the website, the connection is established: The company can now directly attribute the interaction to a campaign, piece of content, or channel. Through integration with Google Analytics 4 (GA4), this touchpoint is not only visible but also analyzable.
matelso connects clicks from ChatGPT with real leads – visible in GA4 and CRM. This makes it clear which measures really convert.
This means that marketers can see at a glance whether and how content or campaigns are impacting AI searches—and whether this is generating valuable leads. This data is incorporated into the overall evaluation of the marketing mix and enables fact-based decisions: Which campaigns are also performing well in the AI context? Which content is being picked up by ChatGPT & Co.? Where is it worth investing more budget?
The result: The online marketing strategy is optimized based on data – and ROI is significantly increased. Instead of flying blind and focusing on “more visibility,” companies use matelso to measure exactly which investments in SEO or paid search are worthwhile in terms of real conversions.
The advantages of the matelso platform for measurable marketing and better ROI
Companies that use the matelso platform benefit directly:
Transparency across all touchpoints: Every lead—whether from ChatGPT, Google, or other channels—becomes visible and measurable.
More targeted budget allocation: You can identify which channels are really performing and invest only where leads are generated.
Higher marketing ROI: Thanks to a clear database, you can continuously optimize campaigns—and thus significantly increase your return on investment.
Conclusion: If you don’t measure, you lose – and the AI in ChatGPT has a say in the matter.
ChatGPT as a search engine is changing the game. Visibility no longer comes solely from Google, but from AI-generated responses. Those who do not understand how these recommendations work and cannot measure them will lose leads.
matelso closes precisely this gap. The matelso platform shows whether users are coming via LLMs such as ChatGPT, what they are doing, and whether this is generating genuine leads. This allows you to optimize your strategy based on data, invest more efficiently, and increase your marketing ROI in the long term.
Now is the right time to rethink your approach—and measure it correctly.
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