ChatGPT vs. Google AI: Here’s Why You Don’t Need To Upend Your SEO Strategy – Yet

“SEO is dead.”

“Generative engine optimization is the new SEO.”

“Nobody uses Google anymore.”

Have you heard one of these phrases over the last year or so? Congratulations, you’re now in the discourse around the role of ChatGPT in SEO and what it means for your business.

Here’s the scoop: There are a ton of changes in SEO right now. There’s a lot the SEO community knows, and a lot we don’t know. But here’s what you need to know:

SEO isn’t dead, it’s evolving. Google’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And still, business owners need to understand what’s going on to stay ahead.

Let’s start with comparing two giants in AI-driven search: ChatGPT and Google’s AI-driven changes, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.

The TL;DR on ChatGPT vs. Google AI:

• Google AI and ChatGPT work on different models and take different types of content into account.
• The hype around ChatGPT leads to an impression that adoption rates are much higher than they currently are.
• Traditional Google search continues to be the king, but the day may come when the search giant abdicates its throne. Be prepared.

What We Mean When We Say “Google AI”

“Google AI” refers to a suite of AI-powered features, driven by Gemini (Google’s AI model), used across all Google products. Not all of Gemini’s products are directly tied to search. The main Google products that incorporate AI and search are:

• AI Overviews: These are the summaries that appear at the top of a traditional Google search. They pull from a range of sources and craft a summary to best answer the question a user is asking.
• AI Mode: This is a feature, available in Google Chrome and other browsers, that uses AI to take things a step further. AI Mode allows for advanced searches, appointment booking, and many other “net steps” that people traditionally take in search.
• AI chatbot: Gemini operates an AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT. In addition to search, Gemini automatically integrates with all Google Workspace tools, using data from Meet, Docs, your email, and more to streamline processes.

ChatGPT vs. Google AI: Comparing Its Impact On SEO

How ChatGPT and Google understand information

ChatGPT and Gemini both process videos, photos, and other types of content in addition to text. What does this mean for your business? All types of content will make a difference in how your business shows up in search. More on that later…

Website traffic

For SEOs and businesses, this is one of the biggest areas of concern — and the biggest question mark as to the future of search.

As AI Overviews appear for more searches — as of May 2025, about 13% of all searches have AI Overviews present — many websites are reporting that their overall traffic is down. This is lending credence to the current theory that clicks are plummeting as AI Overviews roll out and as more people adopt AI Mode, where a shockingly high number of users don’t click anything at all.

Unfortunately for SEOs and business owners, Google will not share how much traffic is coming through AI Mode or AI Overviews. The search giant claims that traffic is not affected, but there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Some early studies found traffic dips as large as 35%. There is also a ton of anecdotal evidence from business owners that their Google traffic has slowed.

On the other hand, we can see how much traffic is coming through ChatGPT. Google Analytics puts ChatGPT as a separate category. There’s evidence that people who use ChatGPT do click through like traditional search results, and we are seeing clients’ traffic from ChatGPT rise, slowly but surely.

Accuracy

Both platforms have a record of inaccuracies and inconsistencies — and many searchers still use the tools without questioning what they’re seeing.

At its core, LLMs and MLLMs improve as the algorithm learns. Remember Google’s original AI Overviews rollout, where the platform was advising folks to eat one small rock a day? We’ve come a long way from those rock-eating days. But still, small inaccuracies come up. Whether that’s due to outdated information or contradictory data from multiple sources, these inaccuracies can make the difference between someone deciding to buy your products or services or moving on to something else.

The problem is: people are using these tools now. There isn’t time to make their results better behind the scenes. Why would a company do that, when the general public can contribute billions and billions of searches? That, coupled with the race to be the first to “own” AI, gives these platforms no reason not to let them out into the wild. This is a larger, more existential conversation that folks like Stellastra’s founder Stella Morrison are pushing forward in the SEO community.

Free and paid versions

Google Gemini and ChatGPT offer free and paid versions, and both versions offer some degree of access to search. Free versions of ChatGPT limit the number of searches you can conduct (or other tasks you want ChatGPT to help with), and the paid versions give you more access, capabilities, and priority during the software’s busiest times. People can use the tools for search at the free level.

Comparison chart

What SEOs know, and don’t know, about ChatGPT and Google AI search

Brand identity is more important than ever. Brand mentions help improve visibility in LLMs like ChatGPT and AI Overviews. With more than one source confirming key facts about your business, they’re more likely to influence the delivered results.

Links and press mentions are especially important for ChatGPT. Media mentions that amplify key points about your business and its offerings help improve visibility in ChatGPT. The logic is similar to the reason brand identity is so important, but the truth is, these two components go hand-in-hand in a whole new way now that AI tools are in the picture.

The SEO fundamentals are still key. The jury is still out on which of the same factors that influence Google and other traditional search engines work for AI Overviews, AI Mode, and ChatGPT. All signs point to the essentials still making a difference, though. A fast website, informative content about your business, and a great user experience are all important.

Google Is Still King, But For How Long?

By most estimates, Google processes more than 5 trillion queries per year. That translates to 14 billion searches per day around the globe. That’s just in search. Not too shabby for a platform that captures just under 90% of the search market — a percentage that’s fallen from its peak, by the way.

By comparison, ChatGPT processes around 2.5 billion queries per day. Keep in mind, though, that ChatGPT does so much more than just search. That means, in reality, that web searches are only a fraction of what ChatGPT processes each day. At this time, there are no clear statistics on how many queries are processed by AI Mode.

Here’s the takeaway. Traditional Google search still dwarfs ChatGPT search and even AI mode. Even if it feels like everyone on earth has turned to ChatGPT, we’re talking macro. When we talk specifically about search, the picture looks much different.

Curious about other search engines? Read our guide to Google alternatives.

Embracing The New Reality As A Business Owner

Things are changing rapidly, and crystal balls don’t roll fast enough. The hallmark of ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and AI Mode is how volatile they are. While there’s always been some volatility in search, the change we’re experiencing right now — and how rapidly we’re experiencing it — is unprecedented.

Early reports show that ChatGPT frequently changes the content it cites, as often as monthly. By comparison, content at the top of search results used to stay in top positions for months or years.

There are some long-term questions we don’t know the answers to, like:

• What are the long-term implications of people not clicking on results in AI Overview and AI Mode?
• How do we measure SEO success going forward, if clicks are no longer a reputable or reliable metric?
• What if AI Mode becomes the default instead of traditional Google search?
• What happens when OpenAI monetizes ChatGPT with ads? What about Google monetizes AI Mode with ads?
• If ChatGPT (and perhaps AI Mode) continues to change the content it cites, what is the best course of action?
• Will ChatGPT release a dashboard similar to Google Analytics to help SEOs best optimize their websites for ChatGPT search?

5 Things To Start Now To Show Up In ChatGPT And Google AI

At Stellastra, we’re stepping up to keep our clients on track for the future of search. Here’s what we’re implementing for all our clients. Steal our playbook, and give us a call when it’s time to level up.

1. Focus on the fundamentals

In SEO, one thing never falters: centering customers.

Fast, aesthetically pleasing, and authoritative websites consistently perform better than their less-than-stellar counterparts. Those fundamentals didn’t change when AI tools burst onto the scene.

It makes sense: people want to spend seconds finding answers — after all, it’s the whole reason that AI Overviews, AI Mode, and ChatGPT are this popular in the first place. A fast and easy-to-navigate website is key to getting that information quickly.

And while it’s not a guarantee, there’s evidence that higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) may increase chances that you’ll be picked up by AI Overviews.

Our advice? Don’t lose sight of the fundamentals. Focus on a fast website, continue publishing helpful and relevant content (more on this below), and make sure your technical SEO is on point. Keep reading for more of that.

2. Don’t neglect technical SEO

There’s a lot of discussion about whether ChatGPT reads, understands, and/or cares about code, or if it solely reads text. In either case, it doesn’t matter for two reasons. First, it still matters for Google products. Second, your technical SEO is one of the fundamentals — albeit, one that the average person won’t see — that keeps your site strong no matter what’s coming.

In an era of uncertainty and instability, crossing every T and dotting every I translates to more wins driving your website forward. This is the time to revisit any technical SEO factors you may have overlooked or haven’t revisited for a while.

3. Drill down your content

The days of driving tons of leads from informational content are gone.

“What are,” “who is,” and other basic queries are covered by AI Overviews. This will only expand and reach other queries over time. And even for sites where that kind of content is still performing, the sheer size, age, and reputation of the site will have most small businesses beat. (There is a strategic reason to include some informational content on your website, but it’s not to drive leads.)

Think about it: people are not coming to Ford or Honda to learn the definition of “SUV.” They are, however, coming to Ford or Honda to learn the new and innovative features of the automaker’s next generation of SUVs.

Now is the time to retool your strategy, especially if you produced a lot of informational content. Go deep and narrow in your areas of expertise. Establish yourself as a thought leader and an expert in your field. The more you build your reputation as the go-to expert, the more often you’ll appear in the new era of search.

4. Diversify your content

As you get into every crevice of your subject matter expertise, find different ways to get your message out there. We already know that AI Mode and AI Overviews review other types of content aside from text. Take advantage of this and find new customers in new places while you do it.

Explore what other types of content can do for you. Try some or all of these forms alongside blogs:

• Videos
• Webinars
• Gated content
• Livestreams
• Graphics

5. Get those backlinks

Since ChatGPT and other LLMs search multiple sources at once in seconds, mentions in places other than your website will go a long way. There’s evidence that these systems take cues from mentions about your brand in other publications. That’s on top of the tremendous value that a quality backlink provides for your website.

Spend some time looking for opportunities to earn a backlink to your site and to get mentions of your brand. There are a few ways to do this, including:

• Pitching to the media (our friend Jen Jones Donatelli with Creative Groove runs a fantastic initiative called Start Your Press)
• Adding your company to some relevant and meaningful directories
• Confirm your website is added to any industry associations or groups you’ve joined

The Bottom Line: Be Prepared

Change is here. Google isn’t going anywhere, but how people use Google is changing. ChatGPT and other LLMs are an option. The best thing you can do to prepare is to keep up. Understand how platforms like ChatGPT and Google AI tools like AI Overviews and AI Mode work. Make sure your website is sound. Build a foundation that can withstand the storms.

And the most important thing to remember? Don’t panic. Empower yourself with information, a plan, and the foresight to know that the plan might change as AI in search evolves.