By esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago)

I never thought I‘d see the day when “Googling” something and sifting through links would become passé. But, like many marketers over the last year, I’m seeing a massive shift in how people find brands, products, and answers online.

More and more consumers are getting their answers directly from AI platforms like ChatGPT, and marketers are leveraging generative engine optimization (GEO) tactics to boost brand awareness and get cited by AI answer engines.

Not sure if GEO is worth all the hype? No worries, I rounded up some Generative Engine Optimization statistics to show you how crucial GEO is in modern digital marketing.

Table of Contents

• Why generative engine optimization is so important now
• Generative engine optimization statistics marketing leaders should know
• Frequently Asked Questions about Generative Engine Optimization statistics.

Why generative engine optimization is so important now

Generative engine optimization is crucial to digital marketing now because the way consumers search for products and services has changed significantly over the last few years. When I first entered the digital marketing industry, consumers typically searched for answers by plugging inquiries into search engines like Google.

They’d then browse the top links Google provides until they found the answers they were looking for.

Now, consumers are asking questions to AI systems like ChatGPT, Google AI, and Perplexity, and these systems are providing direct answers rather than links for users to sift through. As a result, many businesses are seeing a drop in website traffic.

Now, to keep up with how people are discovering brands and businesses, marketers must shift from optimizing for SERPs (SEO) to optimizing for AI-powered answer engines; in other words, General Engine Optimization (GEO).

GEO enables making content easily accessible to Large Language Models (LLMs), so it can be summarized and cited in AI-generated answers.

Generative engine optimization statistics marketing leaders should know

Here are some facts I’ve gathered about the use and importance of generative engine optimization, ranging from user adoption to SERP changes to the most cited content formats.

User Adoption

1. 31% of Gen Z users turn to AI tools alongside traditional search engines.

2. 67% of digital marketers say GEO tracking is more complex.

Pro Tip: To simplify this complexity, tools like HubSpot’s AEO Grader can help you quickly assess how well your content is optimized for AI answer engines, providing actionable recommendations without the steep learning curve.

3. Early adopters say GEO-ready content is discovered up to 10x faster by generative engines compared to relying on organic SEO alone.

4. Gen AI search visitors are expected to surpass traditional search by 2028.

5. Perplexity processes 780 million search queries a month, up from 230 million in August 2024.

6. According to reports from Averi and DataSlayer, ChatGPT reached 800 million weekly active users as of October 2025, doubling from 400 million in February. According to HubSpot’s State of AI …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron