GEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) are the new SEO. Because today, more than half of all searches end in the search results themselves. And when the search engine provides AI-generated summaries, barely 8 percent still click through to a website. These are the 16 figures that prove why you need to invest in a GEO strategy now.
The game has changed. Those who want to remain visible must not only optimise for search engines but especially for AI-generated summaries.
GEO strategy keeps visitors on your website longer
Because the good news? Visitors who do land on your site via AI chatbots, AI Overviews, and AI answers stay an average of 41 percent longer. They also generate 53 percent more purchases. A tailored GEO strategy is therefore a must.
In this article, I share the most recent and relevant figures about the impact of AI chatbots on click-through behaviour. I recently gathered them in preparation for an AI Kickstart Workshop for a marketing team.
Better 10 landing pages than hundreds of blogs
These figures support your new, effective AEO approach. Don't hesitate to me contact me to get in touch if you wish for more help.
En dan nu de cijfers die aantonen hoe de online wereld kantelt:
More zero-clicks
58 to 60 percent of all Google searches ends without a click to a website. This is a zero-click search. https://www.omnibound.ai/blog/answer-engine-optimization-aeo-statistics
Up to 83 percent zero-click rate for searches where an AI Overview (Google’s AI answer) appears. https://www.cmswire.com/digital-experience/is-aeo-actually-working-the-data-behind-the-hype/
58 percent lower click-through rate (CTR) for the number 1 organic position when an AI Overview is present. https://www.instantpress.co/aeo-statistics
Only 8 percent click on a traditional search result when there is an AI summary, compared to 15 percent without an AI summary.
TrendsCoded 2026 AEO statistics
34 percent less traffic from Google Search for news and media websites. For small publishers, traffic from AI-related search results decreased by 60 percent. https://www.dutchcowboys.nl/searchengine/niet-eens-1-van-de-mensen-klikt-op-linkjes-in-google-ai-overviews
More AI chatbot usage
46 procent van Generatie Z gebruikt ChatGPT of Perplexity voor productinformatie. Over alle leeftijden is dit 29 procent.
SMI Barometer 2026
58 percent prefer an AI interface over a classic search engine. https://www.conductor.com/academy/aeo-geo-benchmarks-report/
87.4 percent of all AI referral traffic, is provided by ChatGPT. https://www.conductor.com/academy/aeo-geo-benchmarks-report/
3 times more likely to be mentioned in AI answers for content that is specifically formatted for LLM extraction. An LLM extraction is the literal taking of a piece of text by a large language model (the AI model behind ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity...) to use it as an answer to a user's question. https://www.jacklimebear.com/post/state-of-answer-engine-optimization-aeo-2026
Only 15 percent of the pages that ChatGPT retrieves are actually cited by the chatbot in its responses. https://rakosmediagroup.com/aeo-geo-guide-2026/
Verkeer en conversie via AI-chatbots
Approximately 1.08 percent of all website traffic currently represents AI referral traffic. https://www.conductor.com/academy/aeo-geo-benchmarks-report/
AI referral traffic grows by about 1 percent per month.
Conductor 2026 AEO/GEO Benchmarks Report
AI traffic grew by 527 percent to websites on a yearly basis. https://brentonway.com/blog/aeo-statistics
41 percent longer stay visitors who come to a website via AI. https://www.conductor.com/academy/aeo-geo-benchmarks-report/
53 percent more purchases are generated by visitors who come to a website via AI. https://www.conductor.com/academy/aeo-geo-benchmarks-report/
7.1 percent higher converts the ChatGPT referral traffic compared to organic, direct, social, and email traffic. https://www.trendscoded.com/aeo-statistics-2026.html
Up to more than 10 percent the share of traffic to Belgian content-driven websites via AI chatbots could increase by 2030. https://www.conductor.com/academy/aeo-geo-benchmarks-report/
