ChatGPT sends 0.62% of Google’s traffic, organic beats AI by 39x, brands write headless pages for AI, HubSpot prunes 3,000 posts, and how to track AI citations.
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Hi Marketers,
Welcome to the new issue of HighDegree*: Cutting Through the Noise in SEO & Digital Marketing
This week’s stories will help you decide how much time and money to put into AI search. Marie Haynes looked at 100 sites and found ChatGPT sent 0.62% of the traffic Google organic sent. The SEO Works studied 95 sites and found organic search delivered 39 times more traffic than AI assistants. Ahrefs looks at big brands writing pages mostly for AI answers, HubSpot explains how it removed 3,000 old posts, and Foundation shows how to track AI citations with numbers you can defend. Each story comes with a step you can take this week.
Let’s jump in.
➞ Digital Marketing This Week
- ChatGPT Sent 0.62% of Google’s Traffic Across 100 Sites
- Big Brands Are Writing Pages Only AI Will Read
- What HubSpot Learned From Deleting 3,000 Blog Posts
- Organic Search Sent 39x More Traffic Than AI Assistants
- How to Track Which Pages AI Answers Cite
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➞ ChatGPT Sent 0.62% of Google’s Traffic Across 100 Sites
Marie Haynes pulled 12 months of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) data from 100 websites, covering more than 145 million sessions. ChatGPT sessions came to 0.62% of the volume Google organic sent, and 0.73% once every other large language model (LLM) was added. Of the 55 sites tracking conversions, ChatGPT visitors converted at 13.8% against 3.02% for Google organic, yet Google still drove 96.5% of conversions, 27 times more than all LLMs combined.
She also found ChatGPT referrals stopped growing around the GPT-5 launch in August 2025 and have fallen since. Her advice is to stop treating generative engine optimization (GEO) as the main goal. Set up a key event or conversion in GA4 first, since 45 of her 100 sites tracked none. Then learn Google Merchant Center and watch Universal Cart, the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), and WebMCP, which let AI agents buy products or use forms and booking tools on your site.
Read the full report from mariehaynes.com ➞
While Haynes argues against chasing AI mentions, some big brands are already writing pages that only AI is expected to read.
➞ Big Brands Are Writing Pages Only AI Will Read
Ryan Law, Director of Content Marketing at Ahrefs, describes a growing type of page he calls headless content, built to be pulled into AI answers and seldom visited by people. The name comes from a headless content management system (CMS), which stores content separately from the design that displays it. These pages are short and direct, packed with product, concept, and brand references, written in plain declarative sentences backed by citable evidence, grouped into topic clusters, updated often, and usually AI-generated.
Law shows examples from HubSpot, IBM, and monday.com, plus one site whose ChatGPT citations rose from under 2,000 in June 2025 to over 7,000 in October 2026, according to Ahrefs Brand Radar. He calls the approach a logical response to falling click-through rates and says it can still be high quality when it carries original data and stays accurate. He also warns it may not last if AI engines rely less on retrieval. If you try it, keep these pages factual and current, and keep writing for the readers who still visit.
Read the full report from ahrefs.com ➞
Publishing more pages is one response, and HubSpot’s case study shows what removing the weak ones can do.
➞ What HubSpot Learned From Deleting 3,000 Blog Posts
Aja Frost explains how HubSpot’s SEO and web development teams removed more than 3,000 posts from the HubSpot blog, in a case study last updated in March 2025. The process starts with a scoped crawl in a tool such as Screaming Frog, then a review of redirects and 404 errors, then traffic data from analytics and backlink data from a tool such as Ahrefs. Each low-traffic page gets one of three outcomes.
Pages with no backlinks and no salvageable content are deleted, pages with backlinks or a stronger page on the same topic are redirected, and pages with backlinks and clear fixes are updated and republished. Frost and a colleague reviewed the roughly 350 pages with 60 or more backlinks by hand and hired a freelancer for the other 2,650. HubSpot reported 20% fewer crawls, 38% fewer URLs crawled, and new posts indexed within minutes to an hour, though Frost says pruning was one of several projects behind its traffic growth. Small sites can audit everything every six months and remove pages in batches, with a week of monitoring between each.
Read the full report from hubspot.com ➞
Cleaning up old pages protects the channel that still sends most visits, and a 95-site benchmark measures how large that lead is.
➞ Organic Search Sent 39x More Traffic Than AI Assistants
The SEO Works measured 12 months of GA4 data from 95 websites, from September 2025 to August 2026. Organic search sent 2,825,594 sessions and AI assistants sent 72,095, so organic delivered 39 times more traffic. AI referrals converted at 7.18% against 6.08% for organic, a ratio of 1.18x and far below the 4.4x and 23x figures quoted in other studies.
On 23 of 63 sites, AI traffic converted worse, and B2B product businesses converted at 0.62 times the organic rate. AI traffic converts at 0.67 times the rate of paid search and 2.48 times the rate of direct traffic, so always check which channel a multiple compares against. A 5% lift in organic search would add 10.3 conversions per site each month, more than the 6.6 from doubling AI referrals. AI and organic growth also moved together, with a correlation of +0.557. The data excludes AI Overviews, which arrive as organic sessions. Before you move budget, compare AI and organic conversion rates in your own GA4 account.
Read the full report from seoworks.co.uk ➞
If you still want to measure AI presence, citations are the number to watch, and Foundation explains how to track them.
➞ How to Track Which Pages AI Answers Cite
Shadrack Wanjohi of Foundation defines AI citation tracking as recording which pages AI answers link to as sources, across repeated runs of a fixed set of buyer questions. A citation links to your page, a mention states your brand name without a link, and a reference borrows your idea without credit.
A top 10 ranking no longer guarantees a citation. In Ahrefs’ March 2026 study, about 38% of URLs cited in AI Overviews ranked in the top 10, down from about 76% in July 2025, and in an AirOps study ChatGPT cited only 15% of the nearly 550,000 pages it retrieved. Wanjohi recommends four metrics: citation frequency, share of voice, source mix, and share of model.
Read the full report from foundationinc.co ➞
➞ From Google
Everything from Google search this week —
→ Google Universal Cart In Search Is Live, Yep (seroundtable.com) – Universal Cart is rolling out in US Search and Gemini, with a cart icon at the top right and “Add to cart” buttons in product listings that check out through Google Pay.
→ Google shows cart icon by default in Search (searchenginewatch.com) – Search Engine Watch spotted the cart icon showing before any product was added, where it used to appear only after something went into the cart.
→ Google CEO Sundar Pichai Views Search Absorbed Into Agentic Layer (searchenginejournal.com) – Pichai says agent-style queries in Gemini keep rising and expects an agent layer, rather than a product merger, to unify Search, AI Overviews, and Gemini.
→ 3 New Studies Suggest AI Visibility & Search Not Worth Investing In (seroundtable.com) – Barry Schwartz rounds up studies from Marie Haynes, The SEO Works, and Kevin Indig that all show AI sending a small fraction of Google’s traffic and conversions.
→ Google AI Overviews nearly double for commercial keywords: Study (searchengineland.com) – Semrush data shows AI Overviews on 88% of tracked commercial keywords in August, up from 45.75% in September 2025, with review searches rising from 30% to nearly 90%.
→ JPEG XL Image Format Not Supported By Google Images & Google Discover (seroundtable.com) – John Mueller confirmed JPEG XL images won’t show in Google Images or Discover previews, and Google’s supported list remains BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG, and AVIF.
→ Google Crawls Raw And Encoded Bracket URLs Separately (searchenginejournal.com) – Mueller says raw brackets and their %5B and %5D versions are different URLs, so use one form across links, canonical tags, sitemaps, and structured data.
→ Google Updated Its URL Structure Best Practices For Hyphens In URLs (seroundtable.com) – Google reworded the hyphens section of its URL structure doc, and the advice to use hyphens instead of underscores stays the same.
→ Google Explains The Limit Of Robots.txt For AI Content Use (searchenginejournal.com) – Gary Illyes says robots.txt controls crawling, not how content is used afterward, so blocking one AI crawler means targeting its user agent, while Google-Extended governs Gemini training and grounding.
→ Google has updated its document on how to block Google Search (searchengineland.com) – Google’s “Control what you share with Google Search” doc now covers the robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag, and the Search generative AI control.
→ Google Business Profiles Tests New Advanced Performance Reports (seroundtable.com) – Google is testing a rebuilt performance section with engagement, reviews, audience, and search trend reports, plus top recommendations.
→ Google Business Home – New Google Business Profiles Home (seroundtable.com) – Business Home, a closed beta in the US and UK, brings Business Profile, Merchant Center, YouTube, and Ads accounts into one Gemini-powered portal.
→ Google Search Tests Layout Change For Local Knowledge Panel (seroundtable.com) – Google is testing a local panel layout that moves the business name, rating, description, and action buttons above the photos, closer to the mobile design.
→ Google Moves Google Posts Higher Up On Local Panel (seroundtable.com) – Google Posts are appearing higher in local knowledge panels, reversing a 2018 move to the bottom, and Ben Fisher sees the position change every three days.
→ Google Business Profiles Verification With Government ID (seroundtable.com) – Google is testing Business Profile verification by uploading a photo of a government ID, an option not yet listed in its help documents.
→ Google Business Profiles Review Appeals Are Delayed Again (seroundtable.com) – Google says a high volume of review appeals has extended processing times with no estimate, and asks owners not to file duplicate appeals.
→ Google Ads expands customer acquisition and retention controls (searchengineland.com) – High-value new customer mode reaches Shopping campaigns, retention goals expand with a retention-only mode, and percentage-based value multipliers arrive.
→ Google Ads To No Longer Show Featured Professionals, Headshots Are Optional (seroundtable.com) – Local Services Ads stop showing featured professionals from October, and headshots become optional without affecting ad serving.
→ Google AI Mode Citations With Preferred Source Preferences (seroundtable.com) – Google is testing a “Source preferences” button in the AI Mode citations sidebar that lets searchers add or remove preferred sources.
→ New Gemini tools for small business owners (blog.google) – Gemini adds a business hub that connects to Business Profile, Google Ads, Workspace, Shopify, Canva, and Wix, creates on-brand visuals, and turns spreadsheets into financial insights.
→ Publish interactive apps from the Gemini app to Google Sites (googleblog.com) – An Export to Google Sites option turns an interactive app built in Gemini into a private site draft you can edit, publish, and share.
→ 400 publications are now partnering with us on our News AI pilot program. (blog.google) – Google now pays more than 400 publications, including Axios, CNN, the Financial Times, and Forbes, for content used in AI features such as article overviews and audio briefings.
→ Third-Party Google Rank Tracking Struggling Now (seroundtable.com) – An October 22 update adds Ahrefs’ statement that 5% to 20% of results are affected by poisoned SERPs depending on the provider, alongside fixes from Semrush and SE Ranking.
➞ AI + Social
Find out what’s happening in the social media and artificial intelligence world —
→ ChatGPT Ads expands to 26 new countries as over 100,000 advertisers have used the platform (openai.com) – ChatGPT Ads now runs in 89 countries, and more than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on it.
→ OpenAI Auto Enabling Creative Enhancements In ChatGPT Ads (seroundtable.com) – From October 30, ChatGPT Ads can rewrite headlines, translate text, resize images, and change destination URLs unless advertisers opt out in Ads Manager.
→ ChatGPT Ads New Ad Formats, Updated Conversion Page, Performance Emails… (seroundtable.com) – Barry Schwartz rounds up new ChatGPT ad formats, an updated conversion page, and performance emails for advertisers.
→ ChatGPT Search Can Draw On More Pages After A Cloudflare Pilot (searchenginejournal.com) – Signals from about 1% of Cloudflare’s network helped OpenAI index hundreds of millions of new pages for ChatGPT Search.
→ Cloudflare and OpenAI: Making AI discovery better for everyone (cloudflare.com) – Cloudflare’s own write-up of the pilot, which began in July 2026, with Cloudflare supplying signals and OpenAI ranking pages independently.
→ OpenAI’s API Only Partly Matched ChatGPT’s Citations, Paper Finds (searchenginejournal.com) – Google results combined with OpenAI’s API matched 28.3% of pages cited by GPT-5.3 Instant and 26.2% for GPT-5.5 Instant, and matched cited sites more often than exact pages.
→ AI Search Tools Cited A Made-Up Concept Within A Week, Paper Finds (searchenginejournal.com) – Fudan University researchers got 8 of 10 AI search tools, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, and Google AI, to cite a fictional concept within seven days.
→ ChatGPT now lets you lock your chats (techcrunch.com) – Locked Chats hides selected conversations behind a PIN or device authentication, with separate memory, across Free through Enterprise plans.
→ Claude Duet app is Anthropic’s bet on agents (techcrunch.com) – Anthropic’s Claude Duet is a proactive agent app in research preview for US Pro and Max subscribers.
→ Introducing Claude Duet (claude.com) – Duet checks linked apps every few hours, carries over memory, skills, and connections from a Claude account, and asks for sign-off before it pays, signs, or deletes anything.
→ While Amazon blocks AI agents, Walmart rolls out the welcome mat (techcrunch.com) – Walmart launched Agent Gateway, an MCP server that lets approved AI agents search and buy on its site under new agent terms, while Amazon blocks outside agents.
→ Spotify’s current AI bet is about being the music service that agents choose (techcrunch.com) – Co-CEO Gustav Söderström wants Spotify to be the service AI agents call, and it already works inside Muse, ChatGPT, and Claude.
→ 1Password launches a way for AI agents to log in on your behalf without seeing your password (techcrunch.com) – 1Password for Agents fills in credentials after you approve a login request, so agents like Muse and Claude Duet never see the password.
→ Critical PHP web security flaws spark global alarm as Google, OpenAI and Amazon respond (cnbc.com) – PHP released urgent fixes for critical flaws found with AI tools, and security agencies urge site owners, including WordPress users, to update now.
→ Meta hit with $25B fine over privacy breaches (socialmediatoday.com) – A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found it misled Facebook users about data privacy, and Meta plans to appeal.
→ Meta shares more information on Edits Plus subscriptions (socialmediatoday.com) – Edits Plus will add cloud storage and AI usage for paying creators, though Meta has not shared pricing.
→ YouTube shares data on how creators are using AI (socialmediatoday.com) – In YouTube’s survey of people aged 14 to 44, 61% of recent video posters said they want to use AI to put themselves into their videos.
→ YouTube adds temporary pause for hacked accounts (socialmediatoday.com) – YouTube now pauses uploads, livestreams, and custom thumbnails on channels showing unusual activity, with a review typically within 24 hours.
→ YouTube tests AI replies in searches (socialmediatoday.com) – Some US users may now get AI-generated responses to their searches in the YouTube app.
→ YouTube tests new Shorts incentives (socialmediatoday.com) – YouTube is testing an invite-only Shorts bonus tied to posting consistency and engagement, plus extra affiliate rewards for featured products.
→ YouTube inks affiliate deal with AliExpress (socialmediatoday.com) – Creators in YouTube’s Shopping affiliate program can tag AliExpress products and earn commissions on resulting sales.
→ LinkedIn publishes new guide to B2B conversion tracking (socialmediatoday.com) – LinkedIn’s 18-page guide outlines five frameworks for tracking which ads lead to B2B sales.
→ LinkedIn adds digital business cards (socialmediatoday.com) – LinkedIn users can create scannable business cards and add them to digital wallets for in-person networking.
→ Snapchat says some AI users are willing to trade privacy for utility (socialmediatoday.com) – Snapchat’s research says 62% of AI users rely on AI to keep conversations going, and argues that privacy now works as a sliding scale.
→ TikTok shares Black Friday, Cyber Monday promotion tips (socialmediatoday.com) – TikTok published videos showing how Princess Polly, Dossier, and SharkNinja grew brand exposure during the holiday sales.
→ Pinterest shares festive holiday brand guide (socialmediatoday.com) – Pinterest’s guide gives marketers tips and a checklist for peak shopping season.
→ Reddit adds AI-powered ad guidance tools (socialmediatoday.com) – Reddit adds a campaign planner and custom recommendations that help advertisers raise their optimization scores.
➞ Worth Reading
These are the articles that will help you refine your marketing knowledge —
→ Content Pruning: Why It Works, and How to Do It (ahrefs.com) – Ryan Law’s 2024 guide covers a vehicle valuation site that cut 4.86 million pages to 1,500 and grew organic visits 160%, Belkins pruning 400 pages as monthly traffic climbed from 3,000 to almost 10,000, and IBM removing over 1,000 pages from its navigation for a 30% higher navigation NPS.
→ Does AI drive more direct traffic? (growth-memo.com) – Kevin Indig found no detectable AI-driven direct traffic to long-tail pages across 12 sites, and no reliable link between AI visibility and branded search or direct traffic.
→ How Atlan Turned 52 Pages Into a 35% Share of AI Citations (foundationinc.co) – In a 5,000-prompt study, 52 Atlan pages gave it 35% of vendor citations in data catalogs, 1.6 times the runner-up, and one guide ranked 35th yet still drew nine citations.
➞ What This All Means for Your Strategy
Google still sends most of the traffic and conversions, AI assistants send a small but growing share, and the sites gaining AI visits are usually the ones improving in organic search.
Before next week, set up a conversion event in GA4 if you have none, compare AI and organic conversion rates on your own site, pick 25 buyer questions to check for citations, and list your low-traffic posts for a pruning review. Reply and tell me which one you started with.
Until next week,
— Nishat from HighDegree* Marketing.
P.S. Have a question about implementing these strategies? Hit reply – we read every email and often feature reader questions in future issues.
➞ Who is Nishat Shahriyar?
I’ve been a Digital Marketing Strategist since 2007. Today I’m the Product Marketing Lead at Fluent Forms (a WordPress form and lead-generation plugin used by 700K people), FluentPlayer (a WordPress Video Player Plugin) and Ninja Tables (a WordPress table builder plugin used by 80K people). Before that, I led marketing at Fluent Support (a WordPress helpdesk plugin used by 10K people).
Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on X/Twitter at @rednishat for SEO & Marketing updates.