AI Conversion Rate Optimization: How AI Is Transforming CRO Strategies

By kbodnar@hubspot.com (Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan)

Download the Advanced Guide to Scaling a Conversion Optimization Program

The future of conversion rate optimization is here — and it’s driven by AI. From personalized video to scalable email outreach, learn how to maximize conversions with AI CRO.

If Kieran and I were to invest our marketing budget anywhere in the next 6-12 months, it would be in AI Conversion Rate Optimization (AI CRO).

In fact, we believe in AI CRO so strongly, that we easily rank it above other marketing growth strategies like organic search, paid performance, brand marketing — even product marketing. The return potential is simply unmatched, with some experiments seeing conversion rate increases of 50-100%.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: CRO has been a marketing staple for decades.

And you’re right. But AI has turned the process completely on its head, offering new levels of personalization, scaling, and automation that weren’t even fathomable a year ago. The result? A faster, smarter way to turn curious visitors into loyal customers.

In a recent Marketing Against the Grain episode, Kieran and I break down what AI CRO is, key areas where it’s transforming marketing, and advice for integrating it into your marketing strategy.

What is AI conversion rate optimization and why does it matter?

AI-powered Conversion Rate Optimization (AI CRO) uses artificial intelligence to increase conversion rates by analyzing massive amounts of data and identifying key customer patterns, like recurring behaviors or connections between different touchpoints.

Based on these insights, AI then identifies conversion opportunities — like adjusting landing page content, email messaging, or the sequence of campaign interactions — to better match user behaviors and preferences.

In our opinion, what makes AI CRO a particularly potent strategy is the scale of its impact. For example, at HubSpot, our AI-generated email campaigns delivered a 94% higher conversion rate than the non-AI test control. Now that’s what Kieran and I call a game changer.

3 Key Areas Where AI is Transforming CRO + Tool Recommendations

You’re probably already using Generative AI for marketing to some extent — but we’re here to tell you that you should be doing it more. Here’s how.

Chatbots and the User Journey

When it comes to delivering real-time, personalized support, AI chatbots are one of the most powerful tools in AI-powered CRO. These bots simulate human-like interactions, provide 24/7 assistance, and offer users the exact information they need, when they need it, in a way that feels personal and efficient.

For example, features like HubSpot’s AI Chatbot can handle everything from answering customer questions to making personalized content recommendations, all in real time, which ultimately improves the overall user experience.

While some companies worry that chatbots might feel impersonal, our AI chat experiment at HubSpot actually showed the opposite, with a >50% improvement in the value per chat, customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores that matched human-led interactions, and a 43% boost in chat conversion rates.