The AEO / GEO / AI-SEO Analysis that SME Malaysia can’t miss
Introduction
This AEO / GEO analysis report is originally from Conductor who analyzed 13,770 domains, 3.5 million unique prompts, and 100 million citations. This report highlights that traditional organic search has always been the foundation of sustainable growth. However, brands must now prioritise a new type of search experience: AI answer engines.
Although this AEO/GEO analysis report is based on the US market, its insights and results serve as a valuable reference for the Malaysian SEO market, especial for the SME companies who want to engage AEO / GEO services in Malaysia
The rise of zero-click search:
With the integration of AI answer engines and Google AI Overview (AIO), users increasingly obtain answers directly from AI-generated summaries without clicking on links, leading to a surge in “zero-click searches.”
A new layer of visibility:
AI has introduced a “parallel layer of visibility” (an invisible layer). In this new model, brand discovery happens even before a user visits a website. If your brand is not cited or mentioned by these AI answers, you are essentially invisible in the modern customer journey.
A hybrid world:
We now live in a dual-channel hybrid world: traditional organic search is being augmented by AI, while a completely new channel is emerging. Brands need to optimise for both channels, or both engines. not choose one over the other.
Top Takeaways
Based on data from 10 major industries, the report provides the following benchmarks:
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Share of traffic: AI referral traffic currently accounts for only 1.08% of all website traffic, but is higher in some industries (e.g., 2.8% in IT, 1.9% in Consumer Staples).
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Growth rate: AI referral traffic is growing 1% per month on average.
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Platform dominance: ChatGPT leads massively, contributing 87.4% of AI referral traffic.
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AIO trigger rate: Out of 21.9 million Google searches analysed, 25.11% triggered an AI Overview result.
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Highest AIO trigger rate: Healthcare (48.75%).
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Lowest AIO trigger rate: Real Estate (4.48%).
AEO / GEO Analysis (AI Search Visibility)
Traffic & Trends
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More than just clicks:
Although AI traffic appears small (~1%), it represents millions of interactions that happen before a user visits a website. This traffic carries extremely high intent, with conversion rates often twice that of other sources. -
Industry differences:
The IT industry generates the most AI traffic, likely because IT queries are complex and users often click links inside generative answers for deeper insights.
Utilities and communication services have the lowest AI traffic.
Answer Engine Sources
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ChatGPT is king:
It is the “Google” of AI search, driving the majority of AI traffic. -
Perplexity is the “Bing” of AI search:
Smaller share but significant in certain niches. -
Gemini’s unique role:
Google’s Gemini performs strongly in the Utilities sector, generating 21% of AI traffic there.
Market Share Leaders by Industry
The report identifies the most cited domains and most mentioned brands in each industry:
Communication Services
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Top domains: YouTube, Reddit, Google, Investopedia
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Top brands: Google, YouTube, Investopedia, Roku
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Insight: AI favours video content (YouTube) and forum discussions (Reddit).
Consumer Discretionary
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Top domains: Clemson.edu, Walmart, Target
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Top brands: Walmart, Target, Miele, Sonos
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Insight: Clemson.edu gained strong share with AI-focused content strategy.
Consumer Staples
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Top domains: Amazon, Walmart, Chewy
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Top brands: Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy
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Insight: Retail giants dominate product information and purchase-path answers.
Financials
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Top domains: NerdWallet, Bankrate, Kiplinger
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Top brands: NerdWallet, PayPal, Bankrate
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Insight: Financial publishers and comparison sites outperform traditional banks due to high-quality long-form content.
Health Care
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Top domains: Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Healthline
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Top brands: Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Pfizer
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Insight: AI heavily prioritises authoritative medical institutions (YMYL).
Industrials
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Top domains: Deloitte, Indeed, McKinsey
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Top brands: Deloitte, AWS, Siemens
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Insight: Consulting and professional service firms lead thanks to thought-leadership content.
Information Technology (IT)
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Top domains: Google, Microsoft, SAP
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Top brands: Google, Microsoft, SAP
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Insight: Tech giants dominate due to extensive technical documentation.
Materials
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Top domains: Evonik, Airgas, Trex
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Top brands: Trex, 3M, Evonik
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Insight: Highly specialised B2B manufacturers lead.
Real Estate
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Top domains: Hines, Public Storage, CBRE
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Top brands: Hines, Public Storage, CBRE, Zillow
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Insight: Zillow performs better in brand mentions than domain citations.
Utilities
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Top domains: New Fortress Energy, Denver Water
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Top brands: New Fortress Energy, GE Vernova
Google AI Overview (AIO) Data Details
Content Types Most Cited in AIO
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Blogs
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Videos
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Articles
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News
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Product pages
Insight:
Google AIO favours long-form content (blogs, videos) and summarises them into digestible snippets.
Summary & Future Outlook
The future of search:
The future of digital discovery belongs to brands that understand AI visibility is not optional—it is the next frontier of search performance.
Action recommendations:
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Measure AI visibility as rigorously as SEO (track citations and mentions as core KPIs).
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Invest in high-quality, structured content.
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Align AEO strategies with SEO strategies.
Don’t focus only on clicks:
The goal is not merely increasing AI referral traffic, but boosting brand visibility inside the AI experience itself. Referral traffic is only one signal of the broader discovery shift— not the end goal.
the AEO/GEO PDF analysis report can be download here