Digital Marketing Insights

The way people discover and interact with content online is undergoing a massive transformation. For years, search engine optimisation (SEO) has revolved around one central player: Google. However, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, ChatGPT, and other large language models (LLMs) have emerged as a new disruptor in 2025. These AI assistants now do more than just respond to basic enquiries; they can provide product recommendations, condense research, and point users to pertinent websites.

Marketers who have seen this year’s traffic patterns are aware of the change. AI assistant traffic is growing and tripling every few months across various sectors, including finance, health, and law. Marketers witnessed a startling 527% surge in referral traffic from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and comparable platforms between January and May 2025 alone.

This is no longer a “wait and watch” scenario. It’s time to ask: Is your website ready for AI-driven traffic?

Understanding what LLM traffic means

When we say “LLM traffic”, we mean visits that occurred because a language model or AI assistant recommended your site in its response. For a user, the journey begins with a natural question asked of ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, rather than a search query put in Google. The assistant then searches through indexed information, knowledge bases, and the live web to deliver an answer, which is often supplemented by connections to source websites.

For example, if someone asks Claude about the “best health insurance policies in India,” he or she may obtain a summary as well as links to a few websites. If your content is authoritative, human-readable, and well-structured, your site could be included.

Unlike search engines, where a top-three position equals a click-through war, LLM settings are more conversational. This means that exposure is determined not only by keywords but also by contextual trustworthiness, factual correctness, and how well your brand’s content fits into AI training or real-time retrieval.

Why can’t marketers ignore the shift?

The statistics alone are hard to brush aside:

• 63% of websites are now touched by AI referrals: Meaning, whether or not you’ve optimised for LLM discovery, chances are AI assistants are already sending some visitors your way.

For a marketer, this represents both urgency and opportunity. Traditional SEO will not be extinct very soon, but it is no longer the only option to reach audiences. The AI layer lies between consumers and web content, influencing discovery patterns in subtle yet substantial ways.

How exactly do LLMs decide which sites to show?

This is the million-dollar question. While each AI platform has its own secret sauce, a few common aspects are relevant:

• Authority and accuracy: AI assistants do not wish to provide users with inaccurate information. Content that uses trusted sources and demonstrates knowledge has a better chance of being linked.
• Clarity and readability: Content prepared with humans in mind (rather than keyword stuffing) is more consistent with how LLMs summarise.
• Structured information: Key takeaways, FAQs, bullet summaries, and schema markup allow AI systems to swiftly parse and present your ideas.
• Context fit: The more closely your content matches actual user intent (rather than just the phrase), the more likely it will be selected.

Think of it as SEO+. You are not only communicating significance to algorithms but also making your content LLM-friendly.

Strategies to make your content LLM-friendly

Optimising for LLM discovery does not mean abandoning your current SEO strategy. Instead, it is about adding additional considerations on top. Here’s what should be on your radar:

Human-Centered Content Wins

Avoid robotic term repetition. An AI assistant thrives on conversational, contextual responses. Consider whether your page can immediately address a user’s question in clear English. If you answer yes, your chances of getting discovered increase significantly.

Instead of creating a 2,000-word block of text about “mortgage refinancing benefits”, create a structured explainer with sections such as “What is mortgage refinancing?” Who should consider it? Benefits in 2025?

Focus on structured data. 

Use schema.org markup, clear headings, FAQ blocks, and tables for best results. LLMs sift through billions of tokens; if your site spoon-feeds organised nuggets, you simplify the AI’s job and boost your visibility.

Refresh, don’t just publish

AI platforms rely on recent content; therefore, refresh instead of just publishing. A blog post from 2020 on “health insurance premiums” will not perform as well as a 2025 update that includes current numbers, new regulations, and live data.

Visibility beyond Google

Do not just look at the SERP rankings. Test the instructions in ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to see how your website appears. Are these AIs discussing you? Are they diverting you to your competitors? Conducting quarterly “LLM audits” should now be part of your marketing hygiene.

How do users experience AI discovery?

One of the misconceptions marketers make is viewing AI as simply another “traffic channel”. However, keep in mind that when someone visits your website via ChatGPT or Claude, they have already devoured a portion of the summary.

This means

• They are arriving with a foundation of knowledge.
• They seek clarification, validation, or more in-depth information.
• They are less tolerant of fillers and more concerned with clarity.

As a result, your website cannot simply repeat what AI summarised; it must expand, customise, or provide next actions (for example, a worksheet, consultation, or in-depth tool). In other words, LLM traffic does not require teaser material. It needs substance.

Preparing your team for the LLM era

Marketers are already spread over SEO, PPC, social, and email. Layering LLM optimisation might be intimidating. But here is a roadmap:

• Content teams should train writers to generate Q&A-style sections, layered explanations, and credible citations.
• SEO teams should go beyond Google Analytics and track traffic sources designated as “AI referrals” or “direct assistant mentions”.
• Product/UX Teams should consider user experiences where AI traffic arrives, are they greeted with ordered paths or a wall of text?

Overall, leaders should invest in regular refresh cycles, not just one-time blog dumps.

What’s ahead?

The essential question is not whether AI discovery will be relevant to your business. It already does. The real question is, is your website ready for it?

Because by 2025 and beyond, Google’s blue links will no longer be the fastest-growing source of organic traffic. It is appearing via the conversational voices of LLMs, directing visitors to the next best site to trust.

Making sure the site is yours is both a challenge and an opportunity for marketers. Partnering with innovative digital marketing agencies such as Ethinos, which use AI-based media performance programmes and data-driven tactics, may assist businesses in efficiently navigating this complicated new traffic landscape and staying ahead of the AI-driven discovery curve.

If needed, support can be provided in developing a brand-centric call to action that connects this insight to Ethinos’ expertise.