A recent study by Nectiv examined thousands of prompts submitted to ChatGPT and found something important for anyone working in SEO: about 31% of prompts triggered at least one live search. That matters. Because it shows ChatGPT is not just generating answers from internal models; it is also reaching out to web data.

Here are the key findings:

• On average, ChatGPT launches about 17 searches per prompt, sometimes going up to four.
• The average search query was around 48 words long, and roughly 77% of queries were five words or more.
• Search intent varied by industry. The highest search-frequency category was local intent (59%), and the lowest were credit cards (18%) and fashion (19%).
• The kinds of queries ChatGPT triggered were often review-based, comparative, or looking for fresh data or features (“2025”, “features”, “comparison”).

Why this matters for you

If ChatGPT is acting like a searcher (and it is), then your content needs to be built not only for human readers and traditional search engines; you also need to consider how Ai models might index, pull data or cite you. In other words, you can influence what ChatGPT gives back to users by ensuring your content is visible, authoritative and formatted in a way Ai can mine.

Some implications:

• Longer, more specific queries are being used, so generic short-tail content may underperform in an Ai context.
• Review, comparison and fresh content are more likely to trigger searches and be surfaced by the Ai.
• Local intent is big; for businesses that serve specific areas this may be a prime opportunity.
• Because ChatGPT is doing the digging, you want to ensure your site and pages are properly indexed, structured and give clear signals.

How we can help you appear in Ai-driven search

As more users rely on conversational Ai tools like ChatGPT to find answers, your visibility strategy needs to evolve. Here is how we can help, with a specialised ai seo service designed for this new frontier.

1. Audit your content for Ai-readiness

We will check your site to see whether your content is discoverable by Ai systems: does your markup, schema and structure support being pulled into Ai responses? Are reviews, comparisons and local intents properly surfaced? We’ll highlight gaps.

2. Optimise for longer, meaningful queries

Because Ai-search triggers are often 5+ words long and more specific, we’ll help you identify opportunities for content built around those longer queries, e.g. “best lawn care services in Rochdale 2025 review” rather than the generic “lawn care” generic. This isn’t just keyword stuffing; it is designing content that aligns with how people (and Ai) ask.

3. Build review and comparison-rich assets

We’ll help you generate content that matches the kinds of formats ChatGPT is likely to reference, such as detailed reviews, feature comparisons, and fresh and updated content. This gives Ai a stronger signal and gives you a higher chance of being cited or surfaced.

4. Local-intent optimisation

If your business serves a region, we will sharpen your local SEO so that when an Ai model detects “near me”, “in Rochdale”, or “North West UK” intent, your business is positioned. This means optimising for geo-phrases, local schema, Google Business Profile and more.

5. Technical health and indexing

Ai models still depend on accessible web data. Weblinx will make sure your site is crawlable, fast, uses structured data (where appropriate) and avoids content duplication. We’ll also help you monitor how your content may be referenced or surfaced by Ai.

6. Monitoring and adapting

Our experienced seo consultants will track how your content is performing in this evolving space: Are you being referenced by Ai tools? Are you seeing traffic changes? We’ll refine the approach as technology and search behaviours continue to change.

Why this matters now

Ai-powered search is not a distant future scenario; it’s happening. The data show that prompt-based tools like ChatGPT already rely on external searches nearly one-third of the time. If you ignore this shift, you risk falling behind; your competitors who optimise for this could gain the edge.

By partnering with us and using our ai seo service, you position your brand to be seen not just by people typing into Google, but by AI models that summarise, compare and pull from the web. That gives you a dual pathway to visibility: traditional and conversational.