A Derby digital marketing agency is warning companies to be aware of a massive change in internet searching with more and more people using Chat GPT to find what they need online.
Will Williamson, a director of JDR Group, says firms could lose out on web traffic and sales if they don’t respond to the lightning-quick rise of a new technique called answer-engine-optimisation (AEO).
AEO is a technique companies need to utilise to ensure their name and website appears in search queries that take the form of question and answer exchanges on AI-driven platforms such as Chat GPT, Claude or Gemini.
Will Williamson a Director of JDR Group.
With AI now having firmly established itself online, users are now using these type of exchanges to dig deeper when researching goods and services online, rather than using a traditional Google search and then visiting the suggested websites individually.
Instead, the AI platform will scour the internet and visit the different websites for them, retrieving the information it decides they need in order to make an informed choice.
In a blow to Google, which has dominated the search engine space for years, Chat GPT uses the search engine Bing, which is owned by Microsoft, to conduct its research.
And it is by far the most popular AI platform, handling approximately one billion searches each day, with each sessions lasting for an average of 14 minutes.
While most companies are now exploring AI to see what it can for them, Will says they need to be mindful of how potential customers are using it and how they can harness AI to attract them to their website.
He said: “The use of AI-driven search represents a massive change in digital marketing, because a platform like Chat GPT relies on so much more than the search terms we have all been used to using in website copy and other online marketing activity.
“Not only does it take information from a number of different sources, it responds to each individual’s specific question on a more personal level and so needs specific information in order to be able to provide an answer.
“It’s a huge shift from before and means companies need to have an excellent understanding of what questions people are asking and need to be able to supply the information the AI platform needs to include them in its answer.”
AI platforms such as ChatGPT use a wide range of sources when answering questions. For example, if it is asked to recommend a local restaurant, it will not only take into account the questioner’s location, it will look at online reviews, press coverage, the website and social media.
It will also ask people to specify what type of restaurant they are looking for, while people can ask further questions to ensure they get the recommendation that best suits them.
Will added: “We have already seen the results of answer-driven searches and it led to us picking up a new client. Instead of using a simple web search, they went onto Chat GPT and asked it to recommend a digital agency, saying they wanted their agency to be local and to fulfil a certain criteria.
“Because we ticked all of the boxes, Chat GPT was able to recommend us. Since there is no advertising on Chat GPT, we can only assume that all the work we have done with our SEO and across our social media was the reason our name came up.
“For us in the industry, it’s all very exciting, but I can imagine a lot of people might be overwhelmed by the changes that seem to be coming along all the time, especially a change as significant as this one.”
JDR Group employs 40 staff and offers a full range of digital marketing services including SEO, web design, social media, and content marketing. It has built more than 1,000 websites for its clients in its time and has analysed and audited the marketing operations of more than 250 businesses.
To find out more: www.jdrgroup.co.uk
This press release was issued by Penguin PR. To find out more, contact Simon Burch by emailing [email protected] or by ringing 07735 397888.
