ChatGPT May Scrape Google, but the Results Don’t Match
We know that AI assistants like ChatGPT access search indices, like Google and Bing, to retrieve URLs for their response.
READ MOREOctober 25, 2026
We know that AI assistants like ChatGPT access search indices, like Google and Bing, to retrieve URLs for their response.
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content We analyzed our Brand Radar database of 5.5 million AI Mode queries to identify
READ MOREAI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude can hallucinate URLs and direct visitors to non-existent pages on your website. But how
READ MOREWhen you search on the internet, there’s a good chance LLMs are involved somewhere in the process. If you want
READ MOREGoogle announced AI Mode as a Labs experiment on 5 March 2025. Two months later, on 20 May 2025, Google rolled
READ MOREIt pays to know how AI is changing search. 32% of Nasdaq companies see a strong correlation between their search
READ MORESearch is changing. People are no longer just “Googling it.” Increasingly, they’re asking AI systems for answers and getting them
READ MOREAcross LinkedIn threads and AI‑SEO guides, the promise is the same: format your content into perfect “chunks” and you’ll get
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Given OpenAI’s close relationship with Microsoft, many expect that ChatGPT’s retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) process
READ MORESearch everywhere optimization (some call it SEvO) means making sure people can find you no matter where they’re looking online.
READ MOREGEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization (also known as AEO or LLMO), is about getting your brand noticed—and accurately represented—in
READ MOREIt started with a $100,000 donation, ended with $11 million raised for charity, and somewhere along the way, an electric
READ MOREIn a dataset of 15,000 prompts, we found that—on average—only 12% of links cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot appear
READ MOREIn April 2025, we analyzed 900,000 newly created web pages and discovered that 74.2% contained AI-generated content. With the rapid
READ MOREFirst, we had “the great decoupling”, now we’re seeing “the great diversification”. Brands are overhauling their strategies since losing clicks
READ MOREHere’s the complete process I use to publish high-quality AI content on the Ahrefs blog. I’ll be honest: there are
READ MOREThere are plenty of website metrics out there, and just as many tools to track them. So, to clear up the
READ MOREHas AI and social media killed SEO in 2025? Not even close. Here’s the thing: on one side, we’ve got how
READ MOREDo AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity prefer to cite “fresh” content? We analyzed 17 million citations across 7 AI
READ MOREEver since AI Overviews began decimating clicks in organic search, I’ve had two questions on my mind: “What kind of
READ MOREWe analyzed 1,000,000 SERPs to see how the presence of different SERP features has changed since the start of the year.
READ MOREGoogle provides a solid set of free SEO tools. From simple keyword research to performance tracking, you can stitch together
READ MOREHow much do traditional and AI search results overlap? AI models draw on search engine indexes to enrich their static
READ MOREIf you rank well in traditional search results, does that mean you’ll get cited in AI Overviews? We decided to
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content AI Overviews aren’t always in the first position in the SERPs. For example, here’s an
READ MOREI set up some tests over a month ago to see if Google would rank content generated by Google AI
READ MOREConferences are a great excuse to meet other marketers, learn cutting-edge tactics, and just simply hang out and make friends!
READ MOREAI Overviews are AI-generated content, which means they can contain hallucinations. Google uses “grounding” to improve their accuracy, but according
READ MOREIt’s impossible for anyone to list all the best digital marketing conferences as nobody’s been to them all. But we’ve been
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Does being mentioned on highly cited web pages lead to more mentions in AI
READ MOREArticle Performance Data from Ahrefs The number of websites linking to this post. Get the week’s best marketing content Does
READ MOREIn 2023, Google published a blog post stating that they’re not against AI content: If you think about it, there
READ MOREMedicai used Ahrefs to accelerate their organic traffic against their competitors using a combination of programmatic and content-based strategies. Get
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Does being seen more on the web lead to more mentions in AI assistants?
READ MOREWe recently launched our new AI detector. For almost any webpage, you can analyze the likelihood that AI was used
READ MOREYou don’t need to be tech-savvy to build a website. With AI, you can bypass coding, hiring a developer, or
READ MOREEver had a brilliant product idea but felt stuck, unsure if anyone would actually buy it? You’re not alone. Many
READ MOREGoogle is forever telling us that AI search is better quality… When they [users] get to a decision to click
READ MOREThough still <1% of total traffic, it’s now our highest converting channel at 10%+ CVR (going by our new custom
READ MOREAI is all anyone can talk about right now–and for good reason. It’s on track to drive change at a
READ MOREGoing into this study, I suspected that domain-level link metrics would not be a good predictor for mentions. I was
READ MOREI became interested in automotive SEO after buying a new car and getting some repairs done on my old one
READ MOREBranding wasn’t something SEOs traditionally thought much about. The real wins were in non-branded keywords, where the traffic and conversions
READ MOREI don’t think this result will come as a surprise to anyone. Websites that get more traffic in traditional organic
READ MOREFor Gen Zs, TikTok isn’t just a social feed. It’s a search engine: Nearly 1 in 10 Gen Zers are
READ MOREAI assistants are rewriting the rules when it comes to visibility on the web. The websites they mention are chosen
READ MOREThe web is being crawled more than ever, but it’s no longer just search engines doing the crawling. AI bots
READ MOREWe surveyed 879 marketers to understand how generative AI is changing content marketing: the workflows, the costs, the results…and the risks.
READ MOREFiguring out if your content marketing works is really tough. Even though we have better analytics tools each year, it’s
READ MORESearch engines keep telling us traffic from AI search is better quality, but is it? At least for Ahrefs, this
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content From how content is created to how brands are appearing in search, AI is
READ MOREGood content is good content, and top websites are top websites. These things don’t change. However, biases in the training
READ MOREArticle Performance Data from Ahrefs The number of websites linking to this post. Get the week’s best marketing content I
READ MOREWe surveyed 879 marketers to understand how generative AI is changing content marketing: the workflows, the costs, the results…and the risks.
READ MOREI was previously a skeptic of AI content detectors, and many people still are. Andrew Holland recently shared a LinkedIn
READ MORESEO is a playground for creative, scrappy problem-solvers. But today, it’s often reduced to a formula: plug keywords into an
READ MORESince the March Core update, there’s been a huge increase in Google’s efforts to automatically translate English-language webpages into other
READ MOREWhen most marketers think about SEO, they jump straight to keywords like “best running shoes” or “how to do [whatever]”.
READ MOREWith Google’s AI mode developments, we’re heading toward a future where search results could eventually roll up into one big
READ MORESearch is moving from traditional search engines to generative engines, but traffic from many of these sites isn’t being tracked
READ MOREAccording to our upcoming study, 87% of marketers use AI for content. I’m one of them. AI helped me build a
READ MOREAI bots power some of the most advanced technologies we use today, from search engines to AI assistants. However, their
READ MOREEver wonder which SEO bots are the most blocked? This can impact the quality of the data the tools provide.
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Google just rolled out AI Mode to US users. I was testing if the
READ MOREBuilt within these scores is an implicit assumption that the higher your score, the higher you’ll likely rank on Google.
READ MOREWe’ve seen this before. A new technology rises. Visibility becomes a new currency. And people—ahem, SEOs—rush to game the system. That’s
READ MOREAccording to Google, AI Overviews (AIOs) had over 1.5 billion users a month in Q1 2025. That would be 18.3%
READ MOREWe analyzed 900,000 newly created web pages in April 2025 and found that 74.2% of them contained AI-generated content. At
READ MOREAI is reshaping search optimization—it’s no longer just about ranking in search results, but about earning visibility in AI-generated answers.
READ MOREManaging PPC campaigns means juggling more than just keywords and budgets. From creative production and landing page optimization to fraud
READ MOREBack in 2017, we conducted a study to answer a simple yet important question: How old are the top-ranking pages
READ MOREThe EdTech industry is expanding rapidly, with a global market projected to reach $354.71 billion this year. From AI tutors to
READ MOREThe cybersecurity industry is growing fast, with both new and established players competing for attention. Many new AI-led security innovations
READ MOREShare of search (SoS) is the percentage of all brand-name searches in your market that mention your brand. To find
READ MOREPPC keyword research is the process of finding the exact words or phrases people type into Google when they’re looking
READ MOREA competitive PPC (Pay Per Click) analysis is all about seeing what your competitors are doing with their paid ads
READ MOREYou’re looking for this article because you think long-form content works right? Or at least that’s what you’ve heard from
READ MOREDevelopers and marketers are being told to add llms.txt files to their sites to help large language models (LLMs) “understand”
READ MOREYou have a target keyword. You want to have your website appear in the search results for that keyword. How
READ MOREMost marketers approach competitor analysis with the wrong mindset. They see a successful ad and think, “I should do exactly
READ MOREAs a marketer, I want to know if there are specific things I should do to improve our LLM visibility
READ MOREAI is already a pretty formidable new growth channel, driving brand interest through mentions and even direct product/service recommendations. But
READ MOREThis guide is designed to help financial institutions of all sizes navigate the unique challenges of increasing visibility in Google
READ MOREThe secret weapon behind a successful event isn’t just great speakers, a cool venue, or sold-out tickets. It’s also the
READ MOREWhile AI traffic is growing as a referral source, Google still dominates by a factor of 345x, and Reddit out-refers
READ MOREPython can feel intimidating if you’re not a developer. You see scripts flying around Twitter, hear people talking about automation
READ MOREThere’s a major competitor in your search results: Google. The other day, Lily Ray (Vice President of SEO Strategy &
READ MOREThe internet never forgets… unless the page vanishes, the site goes offline, or the content quietly changes overnight. That’s where
READ MOREIf you’ve spent some time in digital marketing, you’d think making quality content is the cure-all to every marketing woe.
READ MORESearch engine advertising (also called pay-per-click, PPC or SEA) offers a direct path to website visitors, but is it the
READ MOREMany marketers hit limits not because they lack ideas, but because they can’t execute or scale them. Not everyone has the
READ MOREMany junior SEOs make the same mistake: they chase high search volume, assuming it means long-term opportunity. But search volume
READ MOREWe’ve shared, discussed, tested out, and invested in a whole tech stack’s worth of different AI marketing tools lately. Below,
READ MOREIf you’re doing SEO for higher education institutions, schools, or EdTech startups, this is hands down the only education SEO
READ MOREGenerally, companies don’t like to give promotions. They are expensive and risky. The company has to spend extra money to
READ MOREWe’ve spent over one million dollars and sponsored hundreds of creators, educators, and influencers, even including big names like Linus
READ MOREDigital marketing analytics helps you understand which of your marketing tactics work and which don’t. The more you know about
READ MOREHere are two ideas that can be true at the same time: SEO offers worse returns than it used to.
READ MOREOver the past year, we interviewed top SaaS founders and marketing executives on the Ahrefs Podcast. We asked them about
READ MOREWe’ve analyzed 150K websites to find out which ecommerce startups have seen substantial search growth this year. When we see organic
READ MOREWhat are the top search engines in the world? It depends on what you’re looking for. Slowly disappearing are the
READ MOREGetting customers is the lifeblood of any business. But search for “how to get customers,” and you’ll find yourself flooded
READ MORESEO and the stock market — two completely different worlds. Yet when you run a correlation analysis between organic traffic
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Life is full of huge, difficult questions. Are we alone in the universe? Why
READ MORESEO isn’t magic—it’s a system. And without clear, repeatable SOPs (standard operating procedures), even the best strategies fall apart faster
READ MOREA sudden drop in organic traffic can feel like an SEO nightmare. Rankings dip, visibility declines, and conversions take a
READ MOREWe analyzed the organic traffic growth of over 10000 websites to discover the hottest trending saas startups. At the top
READ MOREWe analyzed the organic traffic growth of over 8000 websites to discover the hottest trending EV companies. At the top,
READ MOREAny content writer with skin in the game knows the sinking feeling that comes with the traffic “flatline of nope”
READ MOREWe studied the traffic of 3,000 websites to better understand the size and make-up of AI traffic—including how much of
READ MOREContent optimization tools make writing and ranking top-quality content a whole lot easier. That goes double for the latest generation
READ MOREGoogle has said links are less important than they used to be, and most SEOs have come to accept that
READ MOREOnboarding an enterprise SEO platform can be a long and difficult process. Getting rid of a bad solution once it’s
READ MOREAn SEO topical map is the roadmap for your website’s content strategy. Its core function is to organize your website’s
READ MOREA backlink gap analysis is the process of finding great links your competitors have that you don’t. It involves evaluating
READ MOREThere are tons of tools promising that they can tell AI content from human content, but until recently, I thought
READ MOREAI can write, but let’s be honest; it can also sound (dare I say) robotic. Without a clear process, AI-generated
READ MOREIn October 2024, we organized a sold-out, 500-person conference called Ahrefs Evolve in Singapore. We’ve already covered how we planned
READ MOREBrand awareness is one of the “fuzziest” growth channels. And when things get fuzzy, you need concrete ways to prove
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content We ran this study to find out if running paid ads cannibalize organic traffic
READ MOREI tested the most popular AI image generators to discover their greatest strengths and weaknesses. At Ahrefs, we have a
READ MOREArticle Performance Data from Ahrefs The number of websites linking to this post. Get the week’s best marketing content These
READ MOREDuring my flat-sharing days, I had a housemate that would follow me room to room, chattering away for hours—even when
READ MORELast year, we ran Ahrefs Evolve: a sold-out, 2-day, 500-person conference at Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore. I interviewed Shermin
READ MOREBack in the day, I ran a couple of semi-successful affiliate websites. I even once ranked #1 for “best protein
READ MOREIn May 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, Ash Young started an ecommerce store selling car mats in
READ MORECalculators are the unlikely tactic savvy website owners are using to drive hundreds of thousands (and sometimes millions) of clicks
READ MOREIt doesn’t matter whether you’re just starting out in SEO, or you’re decades-deep—these battle-tested content marketing templates will give you
READ MOREWe’re not exactly short on AI content creation tools as we head into 2025—in this list, you’ll see some ol’
READ MOREI rigorously tested the most popular AI search engines to discover their strengths and weaknesses. I ran this test
READ MOREWe recently concluded Ahrefs Evolve: a sold-out, 2-day, 500-person conference at Pan Pacific Orchard in Singapore. The Ahrefs team at
READ MOREYou don’t have to be the next James Bond to start PPC spying—all you need is a license to Ahrefs.
READ MOREBut often, brand monitoring is more than just responding to comments that mention your brand—it’s about understanding customer sentiment and
READ MORESEO potential is the measure of how much organic traffic you can generate through search engines like Google without a
READ MORESEO often sounds more complicated than it really is. As a small business owner, you can get started for free
READ MOREI’ve worked in SEO for just over 12 years. In that time, I’ve built up a trusty vault of tried-and-tested SEO
READ MOREAt first glance, branded content may seem worlds apart from the actual brand. But that’s because it’s not really about
READ MOREIf you’re a founder who knows that SEO matters, but doesn’t know where to start, check out this one-page primer.
READ MOREWe analyzed ~2.3 million keywords with ~4.99 million top ads to see how frequently businesses advertise on keywords where they
READ MOREI’m going to type the lamest thing I’ve ever typed and make 90% of you close the page right now.
READ MOREThe holidays are coming up. What can you do to ensure you’re getting the most out of the season? Here
READ MOREAI is eating the world, and it’s only been two years since the “ChatGPT moment.” Just a year ago, many
READ MORELocal newspapers will link to anything. Seriously. Did you run the numbers and find that people in their state pay
READ MOREWe analyzed the branded search growth of 3,000 software companies to discover the fastest-growing AI companies around. When we published
READ MOREAhrefs Evolve is a wrap. And my favorite memory? All the people I met at the event. In fact, I really
READ MOREWe analyzed the branded search growth of 2,700 software companies to discover the hottest trending startups in tech. Here’s how we
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Here are the top 100 trending products right now, showing their growth in Google
READ MOREI analyzed 300K keywords to understand what triggers AI Overviews. The results were predictable in some ways and wholly surprising
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Are you looking for some juicy affiliate marketing statistics? Don’t worry—I’ve done the hard
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content Are you looking for some juicy affiliate marketing statistics? Don’t worry—I’ve done the hard
READ MOREHey all, I’m Rebekah and I am your Chosen One to “do a blog post for Ahrefs Evolve 2024”. What
READ MOREOne way in is to identify and rank for trending keywords before these big sites catch up and dominate the SERPs.
READ MOREAt its core, a PR report is about presenting the impact of your hard work. While day-to-day PR reports get into
READ MOREGenerating demand is about making people want stuff they had no desire to buy before encountering your marketing. Sometimes, it’s
READ MOREWe analyzed the organic growth of 1,600 SaaS companies to discover the SEO strategies that work best in 2024. In this
READ MOREGet the week’s best marketing content These are the 100 most searched people, along with their monthly search volumes. 100
READ MOREI asked 11 affiliate marketers for their top affiliate marketing tips in 2024. Here are the tips they shared and how
READ MOREI asked 12 SEOs for the link building strategy that’s working best for them right now. Here are the tactics they
READ MOREThese are the 100 most asked questions on Google, along with their monthly search volumes. 100 most asked questions on
READ MOREZillow, Trulia, Redfin. These names appear in almost every conversation about buying, selling, or renting property. This is not because
READ MOREAre you frantically Googling “SEO interview questions” because you’ve got an upcoming interview like… tomorrow? If so, don’t panic—I’ve got
READ MORENobody needs SEO like NerdWallet. Their S-1 shows over 70% of traffic is unpaid. For a business that transforms knowledge-seeking
READ MOREI asked 12 SEOs to share what’s on their bookshelves. Here’s what they said: Authors: Stephan Spencer, Eric Enge, Jessica Stricchiola
READ MOREGoogle’s search results aren’t set in stone—they’re always changing. But when there’s a major change in search intent for a
READ MOREA few weeks ago, I optimized one of my blog posts for related keywords. Today, it gets an estimated 2,300
READ MOREWe’ve passed the high-water mark of content marketing—at least, content marketing in its current form. After thirteen years in content
READ MOREAt a time when anyone can create content, the real challenge—and opportunity—is in saying something new. I think content curation
READ MORE“Entity SEO”. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Not only does the word “entity” sound foreign, it feels like yet another thing
READ MORESEO for personal injury law firms is notorious for how expensive and competitive it can be. Even with paid ads,
READ MOREWe analyzed the organic traffic growth of 1,600 SaaS companies to discover the SEO strategies that work best in 2024… …and
READ MORELast month, I bought a laser cutter. If you’ve been in my shoes, you know that one does not simply
READ MOREMuch of marketing today is built on the idea that education is enough. Provide a searcher with functional, half-decent information,
READ MOREThe formula for calculating ROI is so simple that I’ll share it right here, in the article introduction: ((Return from
READ MORETwo things make a good website: content and functionality. Looks are nice to have but come last. Focus on these two
READ MORESearches for “How to humanize AI content” have grown 943% over the last 12 months. More people are trying to
READ MORESEO is critical in the travel industry. While most travelers might gain inspiration on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, they will
READ MOREThe key to restaurant SEO is understanding that most people don’t search for specific restaurants. They search for the type
READ MOREYou might have heard of website crawling before — you may even have a vague idea of what it’s about
READ MOREI asked 11 of SEO’s own headline acts to share their best advice for aspiring speakers. Here’s their personal roadmap
READ MORESEO content is content optimized to rank high on search engines. I’ve created plenty of them in my career. In
READ MOREWant to win new business with your next SEO proposal? Let me show you how. In this article, I’ll explain what
READ MORELooking for a more reliable way to check the SERPs without spending a dime? Each of these free tools allows you
READ MOREIn the United States, the median cost of SEO services is $1,501-$2,000 per month. This is according to our SEO
READ MOREIn-house SEO refers to the practice of managing and executing search engine optimization strategies using a company’s internal resources, rather
READ MOREAs the web fills inexorably with AI slop, searchers and search engines are becoming more skeptical of content, brands, and
READ MORECreating an SEO reporting dashboard is often an easier way to share your SEO performance results than a text-heavy SEO
READ MOREKeyword relevance is a key part of Google Search, including both organic and paid search results. It helps make sure
READ MOREBuyer intent keywords (or buyer keywords, high intent keywords) are search terms that suggest a user is ready to make
READ MORELooking for a competitor analysis tool that does it all? Well, they’re a bit pricey. They can cost about $1000
READ MOREWhether you are working in-house at an enterprise company or you’re an agency working with enterprise clients, you’ll find that
READ MOREWant to meet other people interested in SEO offline? Give an SEO meetup a go. In my experience, it’s one of
READ MORESEO and content marketing are different marketing channels. But you don’t have to choose between them. They’re complementary. In fact,
READ MOREWebsite traffic data normally looks like this: Ups and downs, peaks and troughs. If we’re doing our job properly, we generally
READ MOREGetting to the top of Google can be quite slow. Especially so for small, new websites. And the competition can
READ MORESearch engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your pages to rank in a search engine’s organic results. Pay-per-click
READ MOREHealthcare SEO is the secret to helping your organization reach more patients and clients. SEO can help you rank for
READ MOREObjectives and Key Results (OKRs) are a popular goal-setting framework. It helps SEOs define and measure the success of their
READ MOREEnterprise SaaS SEO is the practice of improving the visibility and rankings of an enterprise SaaS website in search engines.
READ MORERecent changes to Google’s user interface have affected the volume and quality of organic website traffic. For instance, AI Overviews
READ MOREEnterprise link building is the process of acquiring links to a large, enterprise company’s website to improve its visibility and
READ MORE