Generative search engines like ChatGPT have successfully used SEO as part of their growth strategy, even as the echo chambers of the web claim they’re killing this powerful marketing channel.
Let’s take a look at how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude fare in SEO, and why ChatGPT’s investment in the strategy is paying off.
A $600,000 annual SEO investment could generate outsized returns for generative AI platforms.
Using Semrush-reported monthly organic traffic — 76.5 million visits for ChatGPT, 908,000 for Claude, and 1.7 million for Perplexity — plus a conservative 0.5% conversion rate and a $20/month entry price, projected returns range from approximately $92 million in annual revenue for ChatGPT (15,200% ROI) to 82%-240% ROI for Claude and Perplexity.
OpenAI’s investment in SEO and content for ChatGPT’s growth
OpenAI understands the value of SEO to drive growth. It was offering $310,000-$393,000 to hire a content strategist with SEO experience.
It then launched a second job search for a growth role focused on SEO, CRO, and web strategy.
Looking at SEO-focused growth role salaries in the U.S. ($100,000 to $295,000), we can estimate OpenAI invested between $410,000 and $600,000 for two SEO roles, not including benefits and other expenses.
SEO has more lives than an agile alley cat because it leverages human behavior. Searching is core to our survival. When we were cave dwellers needing food or shelter, we searched for it. Search engines amplify this behavior.
ChatGPT is expanding search behavior and increasing Google searches in certain use cases. However, there’s a 20% decline in overall Google search volume from 2024 to 2025.Â
That shift makes visibility even more critical. As the search landscape evolves — and as Google’s AI Overviews take clicks away — increasing your website’s ability to be found through SEO becomes more important, not less.
The OpenAI team understands this. That’s why it built SEO into ChatGPT’s foundation and continues investing in it.
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Evaluating the SEO foundations of ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity
I conducted a brief analysis of how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude use SEO to grow. The goal was to uncover the good, the bad, and the ugly so brands can apply what works and discard the rest.
Using Semrush for competitive keyword analysis, I examined domain authority, brand versus non-brand keyword distribution, and total keyword rankings.
Brand authority and demand
ChatGPT’s website has an authority score of 99, followed by Perplexity’s 81 and Claude’s 75. Building a…
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