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New semester, new topics. Last week I guest lectured in the MBA program at Mannheim Business School on how AI is transforming the digital buyer journey. Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of marketing and commerce, including how consumers search, compare, and make purchase decisions online.

Traffic to websites from AI tools is rising fast

AI (e.g., ChatGPT) is rapidly emerging as a new channel. According to Adobe Analytics, for example, traffic from AI tools to U.S. retail websites is doubling every two months. Their data is based on the analysis of more than 1 trillion website visits, so it does sound reliable.

This trend is gaining momentum because AI search simply works better. Recent experiments by NIM and the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences show, that users achieve up to 20% better results when using AI tools compared to traditional search engines. In the experiment, participants were asked to identify the best option among three proposed products. They were divided into two groups: one using ChatGPT and the other using Google Search.

The battle for the future of the internet

This also highlights the major competition in the background about what the future of the internet will look like. Currently, the internet is mostly free, and its business model is based on ads. Delivered mostly by Google. OpenAI is trying to disrupt that. Their business model is subscription based, and they have decided to take Google head on:

• Since October 2023, ChatGPT has been able to browse the web
• Since October 2024, ChatGPT has a built in search functionality, very similar to a Google Search
• As of October 2025, you can download Atlas, a browser (like Chrome or Safari), with built in ChatGPT functionality

Google is trying to catch up. In March 2025 it introduced “AI mode”, which is eerily similar to ChatGPT. And they also stated that this will be the future of search.

What does this mean for marketing?

Recent studies show that around 70% of the time users in AI Mode don’t click on any external links. They ask the chatbot a question, get the answer and leave, without visiting any other website. However those who do click tend to stay longer on landing pages and have a lower bounce rate, as they are further along in the buyer journey. As a result, the “messy middle” of the buyer journey (a term coined by Google) is becoming even messier. Awareness, Interest, and Consideration can now occur simultaneously within a single tool.

Marketing now has two main tasks:

• ensure visibility within AI tools and
• optimizing website content for the new buyer journey.

If you’re curious how to do that, set up a free consultation call to discuss.