Introduction

AI is reshaping how marketers track organic growth, exposing big gaps in how teams connect SEO to real business results.

What's the problem it solves?

Marketers have long struggled to prove the business value of organic growth. AI search makes this harder by hiding referral paths and reducing clicks. The research explores how teams can adapt measurement systems and find reliable ways to connect organic visibility with real results like revenue and pipeline.

Quick Summary

The 2025 study surveyed 170 U.S. marketers to understand how they measure and report organic growth in the age of AI. It found that most traditional SEO metrics like traffic, clicks, and impressions remain stable, despite fears that AI Overviews and chat-based search would destroy organic visibility. In fact, trust in these metrics is holding strong, with over a third of marketers saying their confidence has grown.

However, while 63% of marketers claim to prioritize business outcomes like revenue and conversions, only about 30% actually report those to stakeholders. Most still highlight vanity metrics like traffic growth or keyword rankings, which don’t prove real impact. One reason is that most teams rely on tools like Google Analytics, which track visits but not downstream results such as qualified leads or pipeline revenue.

AI attribution is where the biggest gap lies. Many marketers use multi-touch or custom attribution models, but AI adds new invisible touchpoints, such as zero-click answers. Only 18.8% use AI-focused analytics platforms that track LLM or GEO visibility. This means many mislabel AI-influenced visits as “direct traffic,” creating blind spots. Teams with stronger AI attribution systems report far higher satisfaction, showing that better measurement maturity drives confidence and results.

Key Takeaways

• Traditional SEO metrics are stable, not collapsing as feared.
• Marketers still chase visibility metrics instead of tying efforts to revenue.
• 58% use Google Analytics, but few connect it to CRM or revenue tools.
• Only 18.8% use AI analytics platforms for GEO visibility.
• Satisfaction with growth strategy rises with AI attribution maturity.
• Teams that measure input metrics (content volume, brand mentions, updates) tend to perform and feel better about their results.

What to do

• Connect SEO data with CRM and attribution platforms like HubSpot or Dreamdata to track revenue impact.
• Stop reporting only traffic or keyword metrics to stakeholders; include pipeline and conversions.
• Add AI visibility tools (like Peec AI or Profound) to measure GEO performance.
• Track both input and output metrics to see how daily work drives results.
• Build an AI attribution model that includes zero-click and LLM-influenced visibility.
• Move toward measurement maturity by integrating traditional SEO and AI search tracking under one reporting system.

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