Study Finds ChatGPT Traffic Lags In Conversion Rates

The Myth of the High-Intent AI User

For some time, a prevailing belief in the digital marketing and recruitment space has been that users coming from AI tools like ChatGPT are more informed and ready to act. The assumption was that these users had already done their research and were further down the conversion funnel, whether that meant buying a product or applying for a job. However, this assumption is now being challenged by new data.

New Research Reveals a Conversion Gap

Recent findings discussed on the Inside Job Boards and Recruitment Marketplaces Podcast indicate this belief may be incorrect. The episode featured insights from Maximilian Kaiser of Grips Intelligence and Dr. Prof. Christian Schulze from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. They co-authored a new research paper, which you can view here, demonstrating that traffic from Large Language Models (LLMs) converts at a significantly lower rate than traffic from established sources like job boards and Google search. While the study notes this performance gap is gradually closing, traditional channels currently remain superior for driving conversions.

Key Questions for Recruiters and Marketers

The implications of this research were explored by podcast cohosts Peter M. Zollman of AIM Group and Steven Rothberg of College Recruiter. They delved into the critical questions arising from the data, such as why traditional sites yield better conversion rates, whether these effects differ between e-commerce and career sites, and what the timeline might be for LLM-driven traffic to catch up in performance.