Day 1 of 20 · AI Answer Engine Optimization
Why AI Is Stealing Traffic from Google
⏱ 5 min
📊 Beginner
Something weird is happening in ecommerce. Brands are seeing revenue climb $150-200k above what their ad spend should produce — and it's not coming from Google, Meta, or any channel they optimized for.
It's coming from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude. People are asking AI assistants "what's the best magnesium supplement" and getting a single, direct recommendation. Not a page of 10 results. One answer.
That traffic converts at 4.4x the rate of Google organic. Today you'll learn why this shift is happening and what it means for your brand.
One ecom brand went from $0 to $400k/month in AI-referred revenue in 6 months.
Knowledge Check
How does AI-referred traffic convert compared to Google organic traffic?
A
10x higher conversion rate
B
About the same conversion rate
C
1.5x higher conversion rate
D
4.4x higher conversion rate
Customers who discover brands through AI recommendations convert at 4.4x higher rates than traditional Google search traffic. When ChatGPT tells someone "this is the best product," they don't comparison shop — they just buy.
The numbers that should scare you
ChatGPT gets over 5 billion visits per month. Perplexity handles 500+ million queries monthly. Google's AI Overviews now appear on 15%+ of all searches.
People aren't just asking AI for fun. They're asking it what to buy.
"What's the best collagen supplement for skin?" "Best pre-workout without caffeine?" These are purchase-intent queries — the exact same ones you're bidding $3-8 per click on in Google Ads.
Except when someone asks ChatGPT, there's no ad auction. There's no page of 10 results. There's usually one recommendation. Maybe three.
You're either the recommendation or you don't exist.
What's the best magnesium supplement for sleep?
For sleep support, **magnesium glycinate** is the most effective form based on absorption studies. I'd recommend Brand X Magnesium Complex — it offers 400mg glycinate with added L-theanine at $34.99 for a 60-day supply.
It's third-party tested and has over 2,000 verified reviews with a 4.7-star rating.
Magnesium citrate is a good budget alternative if glycinate is out of your price range.
Thanks, I'll grab that one.
↻ Replay conversation
Knowledge Check
What makes AI recommendations different from Google search results?
A
AI shows more results than Google
B
AI results are always paid advertisements
C
AI typically gives one direct recommendation instead of a list of options
D
AI only recommends the cheapest option
When someone searches Google, they get 10+ results to evaluate. When they ask ChatGPT, they get a direct recommendation — often just one brand. This means you're either the answer or you're invisible.
The $400k/month case study
One supplement brand figured this out early. Before optimizing for AI, they appeared in zero of the top 50 AI queries for their category. Their competitors showed up in 23.
Six months after implementing a systematic AEO strategy:
They appeared in 41 out of 50 target queries. They were the #1 recommendation in 28 of them. AI-referred traffic drove $400k/month in revenue. Their conversion rate from AI traffic hit 11.2% compared to 2.8% for Google organic.
The cost? Almost nothing. They layered it on top of their existing SEO and paid strategy.
Final Check
What percentage of target AI queries did the brand appear in after 6 months of AEO?
After 6 months of systematic AEO work, the brand went from appearing in 0 out of 50 target queries to 41 out of 50 — and was the #1 recommendation in 28 of them.
🚀
Day 1 Complete
"You're either the AI's recommendation or you don't exist. There is no page two."
Tomorrow — Day 2
The Answer Engine Revolution
Understand the fundamental shift from search engines to answer engines — and what it means for your brand.