Executive Summary
Over a 6-month period (May 2025 – March 2026), we achieved significant growth in AI-driven traffic from major AI search engines and chatbots. This case study demonstrates measurable brand visibility improvements across Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini.
| Total AI Referral Traffic Growth+24.9% |
| AI Platform | Growth |
| Perplexity AI | +38.8% |
| ChatGPT | +16.3% |
| Google Gemini | +392% |
| TOTAL | +24.9% |
Perplexity:
Gemini:
Chatgpt:
Google Search Console:
Platform-by-Platform Performance: Top Products Discovered via AI Engines
AI engines are directing high-intent users to Brand’s core product lines. Below are the top-performing products and collections receiving AI-driven traffic:
| Product/Collection | Sessions | Growth |
| Protein Collection Complete range of protein products | 69,977 | +27.6% |
| Protein – Flavour Flavored plant protein variant | 39,492 | +8,958% |
| Premium Protein Collection Premium protein line for advanced users | 36,957 | +10.1% |
Strategic Insights
1. Premium Engagement Quality: AI-referred traffic shows 47-48% engagement rates on Perplexity – significantly higher than traditional search, indicating highly qualified prospects.
2. Explosive Gemini Growth:Increase in Google Gemini traffic demonstrates first-mover advantage in emerging AI search platforms.
3. Product-Specific Breakthrough: Strawberry variant saw 8,958% session growth, proving AI engines prioritize unique, specific product details.
4. Direct Traffic Uplift: Direct traffic to product pages increased 357,193 sessions, indicating strong brand recall after AI discovery.
Reddit & Community Engagement
A key supporting pillar of this AEO campaign was strategic engagement across targeted Reddit communities. Recognising that authentic community discussions are increasingly indexed and referenced by AI-powered search and answer engines, we deployed established Reddit accounts to participate in relevant subreddits frequented by health-conscious consumers – including communities focused on plant-based nutrition, protein supplementation, and fitness. Rather than promotional posting, the strategy centred on genuine contribution: answering user questions, sharing product-specific information, and generating natural brand mentions within ongoing conversations.
These discussions served multiple strategic functions. They reinforced topical authority around the brand’s core product categories, created additional citation signals that strengthened the brand’s wider digital footprint, and helped build branded search recall among engaged, high-intent communities. Critically, AI-powered platforms including ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude increasingly draw from community-generated content – including Reddit threads – when formulating responses to product and recommendation queries. By maintaining a credible, consistent presence in these communities, the brand positioned itself as a trusted voice within the conversations AI engines are most likely to surface and cite – making authentic community engagement an important component of modern AEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategy.
Why This Matters
| AI search engines are becoming the new discovery channel for health-conscious consumers. When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity for product recommendations, your brand needs to be in that answer.The data shows AI-referred visitors are: ✓ Higher intent (47%+ engagement vs. 30% industry average) ✓ Product-specific (landing on exact SKUs, not just homepage) ✓ Rapidly growing (new platforms like Gemini showing 300%+ growth) |
Data Source: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) | Analysis Period: May 2025 – March 2026
