Strike Up A Conversion: AI Search Traffic Converting Better Than Traditional Search
Last week, I wrote about how AI search, specifically being cited in an AI Overview, has led to both more organic and paid clicks than not being cited at all (to the tune of 35% and 91% more, respectively).
Microsoft’s Clarity blog recently took the research a step further within its own data, finding that not only are AI-driven traffic and clicks increasing, but so too are conversion rates.
In January we hypothesized that AI Overviews will significantly affect CTRs for both organic and paid search and that the impact will vary based on (1) the query type and (2) AI Overview citations. This was absolutely confirmed. And that impact is even more severe than we predicted. AIOs dramatically impact CTRs, and citation matters.
On average, channels containing OSE [owned, shared, and earned] touchpoints are nearly 3x more powerful than paid media alone in converting someone from bias to purchase. Communications planning must therefore include ‘influence’ as a planning metric, and quantify the impact of OSE touchpoints. The result should be integrated OSEP (owned, shared, earned, and paid) influence plans that involve the full range of influential touchpoints, not just paid-media reach plans.
Politico Journalists Fight Back Over AI Tools That Published ‘Glaring Errors’
Journalists at Politico … have won a ruling over the rollout of AI tools as a nationwide News Not Slop campaign was launched. … The dispute centered around a “Live Summaries” feature used during the 2024 Democratic Convention and a Capitol AI Report-Builder tool available for Politico Pro subscribers.
