Here's a reality check for you: Search isn’t dead, but the click-through gravy train is. SparkToro’s 2024 study found that in the U.S., only about 360 out of 1,000 Google searches sent a click to the open web.
Since then, Google’s AI Overviews have expanded, absorbing even more informational intent before anyone ever reaches your site.
Answer engines are now a real distribution surface. Knotch reports LLM traffic share more than doubled across enterprise sites from late-2024 to mid-2025 while organic dipped slightly.
Translation: more people are asking ChatGPT and Perplexity first, and those answers can drive downstream demand even if the first touch doesn’t land on your homepage.
Independent analyses agree the answer layer is growing. Semrush and Ahrefs both tracked AI Overviews (AIOs) expanding across queries in 2025, with measurable impact on traditional organic visibility.
Some publishers report steep CTR declines when an AIO sits above their links, though the magnitude is debated. Either way, “be the answer” is no longer optional.
What does all this mean? Inbound still matters. But classic SEO alone won’t cover the new surface area. You need an operating system built for answers and feeds.
why SEO alone isn’t enough anymore
discovery moved upstream
More people get what they need without clicking. SparkToro’s 2024 study found that in the U.S., only ~360 of every 1,000 Google searches sent a click to the open web—most ended with no external click.
Since then, AI Overviews (AIOs) have grown, absorbing even more informational intent before anyone hits your site. Rankings still matter, but they’re no longer the whole game.
visibility isn’t just position #1 anymore
AIOs can summarize, cite, or skip you entirely. Semrush and Ahrefs both now expose AIO presence and trends, which is basically the universe telling you “track answers, not just links.”
If you’re not instrumenting the answer layer, you’re flying blind.
AI referrals are small but rising
Across enterprise sites, LLM traffic share more than doubled from late-2024 to mid-2025 in Knotch’s panel, while classic organic dipped slightly.
In practice, people are asking ChatGPT and Perplexity first, and those answers can spark demand even when the first touch isn’t your homepage.
what this means to you
SEO gets you seen in results. AEO gets you included in answers. Use both if you want to win where decisions get made.
loop marketing, explained (and why it fits right now)
the gist
Loop Marketing is HubSpot’s new four-stage cadence—Express → Tailor → Amplify → Evolve—built for an AI-first world where discovery happens in answers and feeds as much as search.
It pairs human taste with AI efficiency so your ideas ship faster, travel farther, and get sharper every pass. Think inbound’s values, updated for where attention actually lives.
how the stages work in practice
Express: Capture your voice, POV, and quality bar so AI has clear guardrails. This is style guide + prompts + narrative, not vibes.
When you set the bar up front, everything downstream stays unmistakably you.
Tailor: Plug into unified CRM and behavior signals so messages fit context, not just personas.
Clean data turns “personalization” from a buzzword into better copy, offers, and timing.
Amplify: Distribute where buyers actually decide: search, social, creators, and answer engines.
Structure content for AEO so AI can extract and cite you, while your site remains the canonical source.
Evolve: Measure weekly and iterate in market. The loop improves with each pass, not just at campaign retros.
why this isn’t just theory
HubSpot rolled out the Loop alongside 200+ updates—think Data Hub to unify signals, Breeze AI agents to speed busywork, and resources like the Loop Marketing Prompt Library—so teams can run the cadence, not just read about it.
media junction’s own pages frame Loop as the natural evolution of inbound: same trust-first DNA, modern distribution and measurement.
want the deeper compare?
If you’re weighing the classic funnel against the loop, link this section to your Loop Marketing vs Inbound article for the side-by-side and measurement map.
It’s the fastest way to see what stays, what changes, and how to move without losing your voice.
the AEO playbook: how to get found when clicks are scarce
1. write answer-first pages
Lead sections with the precise questions buyers ask. Give a crisp, quotable answer up top, then go deep below with stats, dates, and definitions.
That combination makes extraction and attribution safe for answer engines and useful for humans.
Prioritize topics where AIOs already appear—Semrush/Ahrefs can show you which SERPs trigger them.
2. strengthen entities and structure
Make your brand easy for machines to understand.
Add Organization schema on your homepage, use FAQ and HowTo where relevant, and keep facts like people, addresses, and products consistent across your site and major profiles.
Strengthen author pages and internal linking so credibility is obvious to both humans and crawlers. Strong entities reduce ambiguity and increase your chances of being cited correctly.
3. publish where AIOs “shop”
Studies and tooling walkthroughs show AIOs often surface user generated content (UGC) platforms like Reddit, Quora, and YouTube.
Repurpose expertise there and teach in public with Q&A posts and short explainers, then link back to a canonical guide.
Optimize YouTube titles, descriptions, and transcripts so your answers are easy to lift and attribute. You are not abandoning your site, you are surrounding the buyer.
4. add AEO to your SEO toolkit
Track which keywords trigger AIOs, whether you are mentioned, and how often.
Use Semrush and Ahrefs to monitor AIO presence and shifts over time, then audit broader AI visibility with HubSpot’s free AEO Grader across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Build a simple weekly report so your team decides what to refactor, what to double down on, and what to retire. One scorecard, not two.
5. design for snippets and short-form
Package ideas into lists, tables, and visuals that lift cleanly into answers. Atomize into short-form video and carousels so your message travels in feeds, and front-load the hook with captions for silent autoplay.
HubSpot’s 2025 data still puts short-form at the top for performance and investment, so plan distribution accordingly and keep formats consistent for each channel.
6. tighten your measurement
Add AI visibility, share of answer, and citations alongside rankings, sessions, and conversions.
Segment conversion by distribution surface such as answers, search, social, and creators, not just one lump called organic.
Set targets for each stage and annotate major content releases so wins and misses have context. HubSpot’s grader helps baseline and trend your brand’s presence in AI results.
7. run the loop weekly
Express your voice so AI has a quality bar.
Tailor with clean CRM and behavior signals.
Amplify where attention actually lives in answers, feeds, and inboxes.
Evolve with continuous experiments so wins roll forward and misses get refactored fast.
Keep a shared dashboard and a 20-minute retro each week so momentum compounds and the team stays aligned.
proof points for your internal deck
zero-click is widespread
SparkToro’s 2024 study shows only about 36% of U.S. Google searches send a click to the open web, with similar figures in the EU.
Search Engine Land’s recap lands in the same range and notes a sizable share going to Google’s own properties.
With AI Overviews expanding, more queries resolve on the results page, which changes how you model traffic and intent.
the answer layer is measurable.
Semrush analyzed 10M+ keywords and found AI Overviews appearing in over 13% of searches by March 2025, growing quickly and skewing toward informational queries.
Ahrefs’ dataset covering 55.8M AI Overviews shows similar growth and highlights a March 2025 inflection that teams should factor into reporting.
You can now track presence and trend lines instead of guessing.
clicks behave differently when AIOs show
Independent summaries of Ahrefs’ research report notable CTR declines for top organic listings when an AI Overview appears above them.
Even if the exact loss varies by query type, the direction is hard to ignore, so visibility now includes being in the answer, not just ranking under it.
AI referrals are rising
Knotch’s panel data shows LLM traffic share more than doubled for enterprise sites between late 2024 and mid 2025, while classic organic’s share dipped slightly.
The absolute numbers are still small, but the slope is up and worth instrumenting in your dashboards.
publishers feel the squeeze
Reuters reports that Penske Media, owner of Rolling Stone and Billboard, sued Google over AI Overviews, alleging summaries reduce clicks and revenue.
The Times coverage echoes the same concern, which reinforces the need to measure answer inclusion alongside traditional SEO.
what this means for planning
Treat rankings as one signal and answer inclusion as another, then benchmark both over time.
Use Semrush and Ahrefs for AIO coverage and movement, and pair that with internal metrics for assisted conversions and branded search lift after answer exposure.
This is how you keep budget conversations grounded in reality instead of anecdotes.
ready to win in the zero-click era?
You’ve seen the shift. Fewer clicks, more answers, and buyers who decide in feeds and AI chats before they ever reach your site. That’s the reality—and it’s not slowing down.
Here’s the good news. You don’t need to throw away inbound, you just need to update how it runs. Loop Marketing gives you the cadence to codify your voice, wire your data, publish answer-first content, and iterate fast enough to keep up.
Pair SEO with AEO, measure the answer layer alongside rankings, and suddenly you’re not invisible—you’re part of the answer.
At media junction, we’ve helped teams through every major distribution shift. The companies that adapt early don’t just survive, they widen the gap. You now have the context, the playbook, and the proof points to lead those conversations with confidence.
If you’re ready to turn this into practice, sign up for our AI Content Bootcamp. It’s the fastest way to build a working system for answer-ready content.
Marketing is getting faster, smarter, and more human. With the right system, so will you.
