What KPIs are relevant in the era of AI searches and LLMs?

Welcome to your guide on tracking and measuring success in the age of AI search and large language models (LLMs). As traditional SEO metrics evolve, Otterly.AI helps you stay ahead with a new generation of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) metrics.

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🎯 Why Metrics Matter in AI Search

"You can only improve what you can measure."
– Klaus-M. Schremser, Co-founder of Otterly.AI

AI search feels like a black box—just like Google did 20 years ago. But with the right tools and metrics, you can identify what’s working and what’s not. Whether you're optimizing for Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, or Perplexity.AI, it starts with measuring visibility and traffic from AI platforms.

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✅ Are Traditional SEO Metrics Still Relevant?

Yes — but they’re not enough anymore.
As users shift to AI tools, SEO metrics need to be augmented with GEO metrics that measure:

• Visibility in AI-generated answers

• Search prompt volume

• Referrals from LLM-based search engines

• Brand citations in AI results

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🔍 Search Volume: A Key GEO Metric

Otterly.AI has developed a way to predict search volumes for AI search engines like:

• Google AI Overviews

• ChatGPT (+search)

• Perplexity.AI

Example Monthly Visits (SimilarWeb Data):

• Google.com: 76 billion

• ChatGPT.com: 4 billion

• Perplexity.AI: 110 million

Growth Rates:

• Google: 0% (flatlining)

• ChatGPT: 5–15% MoM

• Perplexity.AI: 17–24% MoM
  source

These numbers help estimate demand and interest for prompt-driven search topics — much like traditional keyword volume.

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📊 AI Prompt Search Volume Tool

Otterly.AI's dashboard allows you to:

• Analyze prompt-specific monthly volume

• Track growth trends

• View results across ChatGPT, Google AI, and Perplexity.AI

👉 Example:
Prompt: “What is a CMS?”
Estimated ChatGPT Volume: 180
Growth: +25.1% MoM

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🌐 Referral Traffic: Who's Visiting from AI Search?

You can now measure how much traffic your website gets from LLM-based platforms like:

• ChatGPT

• Perplexity.AI

• DeepSeek

• Gemini

• Others

Tip:

Use tools like Google Analytics GA4 or Looker Studio with the following Regex to build a Channel Group:

📈 See this dashboard example for implementation.

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🚀 Goal #1: Boost Brand Visibility

In AI search, it’s not about backlinks anymore — it’s about being mentioned.

Why Brand Visibility Matters:

1. AI answers are direct — No blue links, just a single trusted answer.

2. Recognition builds trust — Brands mentioned often get picked up more.

3. Voice search loves authority — Mentioned brands get surfaced more frequently.

🧠 Brands that don’t appear in trusted content ecosystems risk vanishing from AI-driven responses.

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🔗 Link Citation Tracking

Otterly.AI lets you monitor:

• When your brand is cited in AI search

• Where your links show up

• Which competitors are mentioned alongside you

Great for benchmarking and visibility tracking.

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📉 Impact on Organic & Paid CTR

Research shows that Google AI Overviews reduce organic and paid CTRs:

• Organic CTR drops as fewer people scroll to traditional results.

• Paid CTR drops by 12% when an AI Overview appears.

This shift affects ad revenue and conversion tracking — and will shape the future of paid search strategy.

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📚 Summary: Key GEO Metrics to Watch