We’ve all seen it. The endless posts about traditional search (SEO) versus AI-driven search (GEO, AEO, AIO – or whatever acronym they happen to be calling it today).
If you look at LinkedIn, you’d think that everything we know about PR and search has changed.
Is SEO dead? (No, it’s not.)
Do you need to throw out your current PR playbook because of GEO? (No, you don’t.)
What I don’t see discussed nearly as often is how public relations can help companies drive traffic from both SEO and GEO – and how that traffic differs.
So, let’s look at the traffic coming from each and how that impacts your bottom line.
AI-driven traffic is growing
To keep things simple for this piece, I’m going to refer to AI-driven traffic as GEO (which stands for generative engine optimization – we also see AEO or answer engine optimization used – the industry hasn’t yet settled on one acronym).
While GEO traffic still accounts for a much smaller share of overall web traffic, it’s growing. Some say it’s growing much faster than expected. AI search traffic is poised to surpass traditional organic search traffic within the next two to four years, according to Semrush.
Research firm Datos says that in July 2025, 5.99% of searches on desktop browsers went to LLMs (large language models). That’s more than double the figure from a year earlier, per the BBC.
It stands to reason that, as more people adopt AI into their processes, the traffic it drives to sites will continue to grow.
I was having a conversation with my web analytics expert when this came up. Looking at traffic to my site, he’d pointed out that while traffic from generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude wasn’t at nearly the volume of that being generated by traditional search, it IS growing.
And the rate at which AI traffic is growing is also picking up. For my site, the growth rate was just 1% over the previous 12 months, but 4% over the past 30 days, a significant increase.
We may not be entirely sure how quickly this is going to move, but these stats serve as a reminder that we shouldn’t ignore this traffic.
Why should B2B companies care about AI-driven traffic (GEO)?
As we can see, site traffic from GEO is on the rise.
So what?
Well, it turns out that those using AI to unearth a recommendation about a solution provider may be more likely to actually buy something —or, in digital marketing terminology, convert.
If you look at your analytics, the AI traffic is likely a much smaller percentage – but it converts at a much higher rate than the rest of the traffic.
In fact, AI search visitors convert at a rate 23 times higher than traditional organic search visitors for Ahrefs.
Why?
Stronger user intent may be the reason.
“AI search visitors tend to convert better because LLMs can equip users with all the information they need to make a decision, says Semrush. “AI responses are presented like personal, word-of-mouth recommendations. They may have more emotional impact and persuasive power than traditional search results.”
“Even the smallest traffic gains from AI search can make a huge difference to your bottom line,” Semrush continues, as visitors tend to be more highly qualified.
Anecdotal evidence backs this up.
I track incoming inquiries about my services and always ask: “How did you find me?” I discovered that one recent inquiry came in via my site after a CEO found me through a ChatGPT search.
“He was asking ChatGPT for recommendations,” said the marketing director who’d gotten in touch. “He kept asking specific questions, and you surfaced.”
If you think about how AI learns, it makes sense.
“…AI learns through exposure, repetition and association,” says Andy Crestodina, CMO and Co-Founder of Orbit Media. “The more often your brand appears in relevant, credible contexts with clear actions and outcomes, the more likely it is to be included in AI-generated responses.”
“We ask Google for options,” Crestodina continues. “We ask AI for recommendations. So, the user is more confident and informed when they reach a website. They are ready to act.”
Traffic from traditional search (SEO) still matters
While GEO is growing faster than expected, statements about the death of SEO aren’t true. Google continues to dominate search, with a 90.4% market share. (It’s sort of like the “death” of any type of marketing – whoever says a tactic is dying is probably trying to sell you something to replace it. 😏 )
But, does the traffic convert? Does it turn into paid customers? Often, it doesn’t. Reports show average conversion rates of 2.6% for B2B from organic search.
Nevertheless, showing up in Google search results still matters to your business. As it’s evolved to favor EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), you no longer need to stuff your blog posts full of keywords. It now favors content written for the audience.
And what about backlinks?
For ages, the term “digital PR” has been associated with those who pursue media coverage primarily to gain a link back to their site. This may be shifting.
“Unlinked mentions—text written about your brand on other websites—have very little impact on SEO, but a much bigger impact on GEO…” says Ryan Law of Ahrefs. “LLMs derive their understanding of a brand’s authority from words on the page, from the prevalence of particular words, the co-occurrence of different terms and topics, and the context in which those words are used.”
As a PR professional, I couldn’t be more ecstatic that the insatiable quest for links may be dwindling. The notion that our work as public relations practitioners was ever about links – not about the actual content – was always hard for me to swallow.
“Brand mentions are the new backlinks—citations get you seen,” says Gini Dietrich, founder of Spin Sucks. “One-off media hits won’t cut it anymore—consistency is king.”
What should you do from a PR perspective?
So, what does all this mean?
What should you do?
If you haven’t invested in an ongoing, proactive PR effort to date, now is the time. B2B companies should be appearing in articles in industry trade publications on a consistent basis. This means engaging in media relations beyond just announcing new products or services.
“Every time the rules changed, early adopters won,” says David Bell in this Search Engine Land piece. “This time is no different, except it’s moving faster.”
Be on the lookout internally for news and stories that would make great content for your site that can also be pitched to garner earned media coverage. Think customer stories, thought leadership topics, contributed articles or guest posts, and your take on industry trends. Don’t overlook professional associations and, yes, even awards.
“Create buzz that gets you mentioned across the web (strong opinion, original research, bold ideas),” says Crestodina.
Leverage the content you produce as owned media whenever possible. For example, that video you shot at your customer’s facility? Consider turning it into an earned media pitch, a LinkedIn post (or several), a customer success story, and a newsletter piece.
“Each brand mention strengthens your authority in the eyes of AI systems, increasing the likelihood of being featured in AI-generated responses,” says this USA Today article.
If you have the time and budget, think about starting a YouTube channel. (Google owns YouTube, so publishing content there can boost you in search.) Videos can also be shared on other social media platforms, such as LinkedIn. The transcripts can be turned into content.
For every piece of content you produce, think about how it might be leveraged for PR. This means your content and PR (and social media) teams should be working together to get the most out of each piece.
Looking for ideas as to where you should place your news and content? Check the sources of the content cited by AI platforms. This will help you understand where your brand needs to show up.
Beyond helping your company appear in search results of any kind, staying out in front of your audiences with an ongoing, proactive PR program helps you build, maintain and protect your reputation. That’s going to matter more than ever, especially as we see AI-generated deepfakes in the form of video (we won’t go into SORA just now, but that’s a development EVERY business should be watching).
Don’t wait to factor a consistent, ongoing PR effort into your marketing strategy
Investing in PR brings many benefits for your company. If you’ve already been focusing on public relations, you should be well-positioned to show up in both kinds of search (SEO and GEO). If you haven’t, there’s never been a better time to get started.
Need help building your online presence to ensure your B2B brand shows up in search?
Learn more about my freelance PR consulting services here. Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. Buy my book here.
About the author: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies, especially those in manufacturing and technology, create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.
100% of this blog post was written by me, the human.
Featured image is courtesy of Adobe Express.
