The "ChatGPT vs Google" dispute is not a war of substitution; it is the reorganization of the search journey.
On the one hand, ChatGPT is growing in adoption, becoming the most downloaded app in the world by March 2025; on the other, the majority of people who use AI continue to turn to Google: 95% of ChatGPT users go to Google.
At the same time, the market pendulum is swinging: Google's market share fell below 90% at the end of 2024 and market readings already put ChatGPT at ~1% of "search".
This guide, without scaremongering, shows what these figures mean in practice and gives you a playbook for performing in the SERP and LLM responses, balancing organic traffic, AI citations and conversion.
What we'll see in today's content:
- Latest data showing about ChatGPT vs Google
- LLM-SEO in practice: how to get cited and clicked on
- How to create a content framework to be cited by ChatGPT and rank on Google?
- 90-day technical and tactical checklist for implementing this strategy
- Metrics to track in the age of search with AI
- Two-tier strategy (SERP + LLM)
Happy reading!
1) ChatGPT adoption has exploded on mobile. In March 2025, the ChatGPT app was the most downloaded globally, surpassing Instagram and TikTok, driven by the boom in "Ghibli style" images. This indicates that AI has entered users' daily habits.
2) Google has lost a little share, but remains sovereign. For the first time since 2015, Google's market share fell below 90% at the end of 2024. Significant, but far from a replacement.
3) Coexistence is the true picture of current behavior. 95% of ChatGPT users also visit Google - a scenario of complementarity: conversational response (ChatGPT) + browsing and comparison (Google).
4) "ChatGPT search" is real, but small compared to the ocean of the web. Market readings have projected ChatGPT at ~1% of the search market share in 2025. Symbolic as a change of habit, but still far from Google's volume.
5) Brazil echoes the trend. National studies, such as Conversion's, show growth in AI without a sharp drop in the use of Google by those who adopt ChatGPT.
Short term: no. Medium term: unlikely. We adopt AI for synthesis and prototyping; we stick with Google to explore options, compare and decide (mainly in local and transactional intentions).
Strategic implication: your brand needs to perform on two stages - SERP (SEO) and LLM response (citable content, with clear data and sources).
Google has been mixing direct response (AI Overviews/AI Mode) and traditional SERP, which can fragment the origin of traffic over time.
Use ChatGPT to understand the subject in minutes, organize ideas and draft the first version; turn to Google when you need to explore concrete options, compare prices and suppliers, check sources and make the final decision, especially in local and transactional intentions.
|
User situation |
Best starting point |
Why |
How to optimize (summary) |
|
Compare options / buy |
|
SERP, reviews, shopping, multiple sources |
Category pages, reviews, data, Product/Offer |
|
Learn the basics |
ChatGPT |
Synthesis in natural language and follow-ups |
Short, quotable paragraphs, glossaries, FAQ in the article |
|
Local/immediate |
|
Maps, timetables, NAP, rich results |
Local SEO, pages per unit, structured data |
|
Generate drafts/ideas |
ChatGPT |
Brainstorm and first version |
Checklists, frameworks, bullets, sources with hyperlinks |
|
Check sources/news |
|
Diversity and continuous updating |
Contextual linking, visible dates, authority |
Table: When to use Google and when to use ChatGPT
On information journeys, many people start on ChatGPT to gain quick context and sketch out ideas; when it comes time to validate what has been understood, compare options and decide, they naturally migrate to Google.
When it comes to local and transactional intentions ("near me", price, availability), Google tends to be the first step.
Practical tip: build content that works on both stages. Open with direct answers and citable data (for LLMs) and go deeper with comparisons, evidence and traceable CTAs (for the SERP).
Think of two stages - and one strategy.
A quick example of a hybrid journey: the person asks ChatGPT "how to choose a CRM for small businesses?" to understand the criteria; then they go to Google to find real comparisons, prices and testimonials before deciding. Your content needs to appear at both stages.
Example of a citable block (template):
In March 2025, ChatGPT became the most downloaded app globally, a sign that AI is already part of the mobile habit; even so, 95% of ChatGPT users also visit Google, which confirms a complementary use between conversational responses and browsing.
The idea here is to turn your post into dual-performance content, readable and citable by LLMs and competitive in the SERP.
To do this, we will combine clear answers at the top, verifiable evidence (numbers with source), semantic structure (H2/H3/H4, tables, FAQ), structured data (Schema.org) and EEAT signals (author, update date, methodology).
Goal: deliver immediate clarity for AI and actionable depth for humans, without losing speed, UX and measurement (CTR, brand searches, conversions).
PAA question (H2): "Will ChatGPT replace Google?"
Direct answer (2 sentences): "Not in the short/medium term. The use is complementary: ChatGPT for synthesis; Google for browsing, comparing and deciding."
Breakdown (H3): provide 1-2 figures, explain scenarios and include a pros/cons table.
Evidence: cite sources only once in the paragraph and leave the full list in the References section .
This4-phase plan is designed for marketing and content teams that need to combine SEO (SERP) and citability in LLMs.
The focus is on getting quick wins on pillar pages, structuring citable blocks (data + source) and installing measurements that connect content to business results. Treat it as a roadmap adaptable to your reality (resources, seasonality and compliance).
SEE ALSO THESE CONTENTS:
Before measuring, align your compass: this dashboard brings together the KPIs that connect SEO to visibility in AI responses. Below, you'll find what each metric measures, how to calculate it, where to track it and the recommended frequency.
Do a monthly review by cluster, prioritize gaps (topics with no coverage and blocks with low CTR) and link each improvement to a business result (leads, MQLs, sales).
If you've made it this far, you already know that in the ChatGPT vs Google debate, the user moves between conversational responses and click navigation.
Your strategy is only complete when it combines SERP performance with LLM citability, a combination that gives scale to the top of the funnel and preserves conversions at the bottom.
Choose 3 pillar pages, rewrite the initial paragraph with direct response + 1 piece of data with source, add a comparison table, implement Schema (Article + FAQPage) and set up measurement of blocks (clicks on anchors and micro-CTAs).
Those who optimize for SERP + LLM appear first in the response and finish in the click, that's how you win the ChatGPT vs Google game and turn attention into revenue.
Key learnings: SEO in the age of AI (ChatGPT vs Google): Google and LLMs have come to coexist: we use AI for rapid synthesis and Google to explore, compare and decide. The winner is the one who operates on "two fronts": ranking in the SERP and making the content citable by AI (direct answers right at the start, H2/H3 in question format, data with source, FAQ and tables). Reinforce quality signals (EEAT, Schema Article/FAQ/HowTo, clusters with internal links) and technical performance (Core Web Vitals - LCP/INP/CLS, mobile-first). Distribute multichannel (blog, social, newsletter) and measure beyond pageviews: share of voice per cluster, CTR of information blocks, microconversions and brand search growth.
In the "SERP + LLM" era, those who come out on top are those who respond quickly at the top, prove it with data in the middle and invite action at the end.
You've seen how to align SEO with citability in AI; now it's time to put it into practice with an editorial plan that generates "citable" blocks, updates data on a month/year basis and ties each page to business objectives (clicks, leads, sales).
To speed up this turnaround and create materials that perform on Google and in AI responses, follow the guide below and see how to structure your content marketing operation, step by step.
In March 2025, ChatGPT became the most downloaded app globally, a sign that AI is already part of everyday life. Despite this, Google remains dominant: it fell to less than 90% market share at the end of 2024, but it is still widely used. Today, 95% of ChatGPT users also use Google, reinforcing that coexistence is complementary.
Not in the short and medium term. ChatGPT is used for synthesis and drafts, while Google remains the main tool for comparing, checking sources and making decisions, especially in local and transactional searches. This requires brands to prepare to perform on two stages: SERP and LLM responses.
Google offers a diversity of sources, clickable results, local functionalities (such as Maps and timetables), as well as trust and the well-established habit of "googling". LLMs, on the other hand, although useful, still face limitations such as hallucinations and a lack of up-to-date data on price and availability.
ChatGPT is ideal for learning quickly, generating ideas and drafts. Google is better for comparing options, checking sources, validating news and carrying out local or purchase searches. In information journeys, many users start with ChatGPT and then move on to Google to validate and decide.
LLM-SEO seeks to adapt content so that it can be cited by language models such as ChatGPT. The strategy includes opening texts with direct answers, creating short, self-contained paragraphs, including data with sources, using questions in PAA format in subheadings and adding tables, lists and glossaries.
You need to structure the content in short blocks (2-4 lines), with a central idea, evidence and linked sources. Use subheadings in question format, insert up-to-date data and benchmarks, apply Schema (Article, FAQPage, HowTo) and include EEAT signs (author, update date, methodology).
Avoid hiding the answer in the text, creating long paragraphs without data, using vague subheadings, forgetting Schema and dateModified and leaving heavy images without alt text. These mistakes reduce the chance of being cited by AI and harm Google rankings.
The plan is divided into four phases:
Some key indicators are:
Because the user moves between conversational responses (ChatGPT) and clicks on the SERP (Google). To optimize this journey, it is necessary to combine classic SEO performance with citable content for LLMs. In this way, the brand appears in the response and also in the click, transforming attention into revenue.