Is Traditional SEO Dead? New Data Shows Dramatic Rise In ChatGPT & Other LLMs

AI for many of us has quickly become a tool we rely on daily, to carry out even the most basic of tasks.

Research from Previsible (via Search Engine Land) shows referral traffic from large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot exploding 527% in just five months.

LLM's are a new layer of organic discovery, already driving performance in Legal, Finance, Health and SaaS.

LLMs Like ChatGPT Are Now A Fixed Staple In The Consumer Journey

Between January to May 2025, AI-driven sessions jumped from 17,000 to 107,000 across 19 GA4 properties. Similarweb are seeing the same surge, especially from ChatGPT and Perplexity, with Copilot sneaking up fast.

And quality of traffic? Strong. LLMs are helping to educate users long before they even reach your website. Armed with the answers they need to make informed decisions, resulting in stronger conversio rates.

These are high-intent users typing in layered queries, and clicking through when they find real answers.

Legal traffic doubled. Health tripled. SaaS cracked 1%. In high-value verticals, these increases impact the bottom line significantly.

Is Traditional SEO Dead?

The question on everyone's lips. Traditional SEO is a slow burn: write, optimise, build links, wait for Google’s crawl, climb rankings. Still useful, but incomplete.

AI platforms don’t care about backlinks or crawl queues. They care about clarity and usefulness. If your content nails the answer, it can surface instantly.

Either the model trusts you, or it doesn’t. Which means waiting for content to “settle” in Google’s index is now wasted time. Publish → be genuinely useful → get surfaced.

Where Is The Biggest Shift Occuring?

Five verticals own 55% of all LLM-driven traffic:

• Legal

• Finance

• Health

• Insurance

• SMB services
  

Why? Because users are asking long-tail, hairy, scenario-based questions:

• “What clauses should I watch for in a retail lease in South Yarra?”

• “Can I take ibuprofen with blood pressure meds if I’m diabetic?”

• “How do I run payroll for a bakery with three full-time and two part-time staff?”
  

Answer with clarity and context, and you’re suddenly part of a critical, decision-making moment in your customer's journey.

Which AI Platform Is Best?

ChatGPT leads the way, but the competition is heating up fast:

• Perplexity is booming in Finance, Legal and SMB.

• Copilot is carving into Legal and Insurance.

• Gemini is popping up in Insurance and consumer content.

• Claude is the quiet kid, but steadily getting noticed.
  

Each model has its strengths, formats and trust signals.

How Marketers Are Pivoting

SEO isn't dead. It is however, undergoing significant change, and we're right int he middle of it.

The other half of the battle, is winning the trust of LLMs.

Businesses now need the following:

1. Tracking LLM Traffic: Use UTMs. Watch for branded search spikes. Investigate mysterious direct traffic.

2. Write for Robots and Humans: LLMs love clean structure, sharp answers, bullet points, FAQs. Make it quotable in one go.

3. Forget Position Number 1. In AI, you’re either the chosen answer, or invisible. Optimize your content for clarity, not keyword density.

4. AI-Ready Every Page: Blogs, help docs, product pages. Everything is fair game. If it’s text, it’s potential AI traffic.
   

The Clock’s Ticking

AI-led discovery is scaling faster than any search shift before it. Brands already adapting are quietly eating market share. Those who stall will be playing catch-up.

If you're feeling lost, overwhelmed, or confused by AI's place in your overall marketing mix, get in touch with us today.