The above quote is from Saastr founder and investor, Jason Lemkin, about his Claude search for the best coding app. Like most tech savvy non-coders, he’d been using Replit and knew about Lovable and Bolt seemed like a distant third option.
But Claude insisted it was the best for his needs and even built a handy chart comparing the three options to prove it. His realization and mine is that this is how your customers find solutions now.
Businesses seeing this trend are trying to get ahead of it with what’s called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) or sometimes Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
The Search Game Has Changed
Your customers aren't typing "best accounting software" into Google as much as they used to. They're increasingly asking AI assistants something like: "What accounting software handles inventory tracking for a $2M manufacturing company?"
Completely different game. Instead of gaming search rankings, you need to earn AI recommendations.
Rand Fishkin of SparkToro noted: "ChatGPT's slice of the search pie is already comparable to YouTube's — and YouTube has been around since the internet's early days."
The shift is happening fast. Research shows AI platforms now influence purchase decisions for the majority of users, with engagement rates significantly higher than traditional search traffic.
As a result, traffic to websites is declining and sometime by a lot but conversion to a sales or sign up is going up. I’ve seen estimates that someone who comes to your site through ChatGPT is 4-20x more likely to convert than from a Google search.
This is devastating for content driven sites that make money from ads but it could be transformational for those selling products and services.
Three Things Are Changing Right Now
Authority Over Volume: AI models cite sources with proven expertise and real case studies, not just high search rankings.
Context Over Keywords: Customers ask complete questions (10-11 words average) instead of 2-3 word searches. "Best CRM" becomes "What CRM integrates with QuickBooks for a 15-person service business?"
Merit Over Marketing: Your content gets recommended based on actual value to the specific question, not ad spend or SEO tricks.
Why This Matters for Your Business
When Claude recommended Bolt.new, it wasn't because of their marketing budget which has to be lower than its much larger competitors. It cited specific technical advantages: browser-native architecture, transparent code generation, full-stack capabilities.
Your customers are getting these detailed, contextual recommendations about your competitors right now. The question is: Are you building the expertise and content that earns those recommendations?
What to Do This Week
Action 1: Search for your business category in ChatGPT or Claude. See who gets recommended and why. Ask chatGPT why it recommended what it did and what its sources were. That’s where you target your content.
Action 2: Document your actual client results and case studies. AI models cite specific outcomes, not marketing promises.
The companies earning AI recommendations aren't necessarily spending more on marketing. They're building genuine expertise and documenting real results.
Your customers are still looking for solutions. They're just asking AI instead of Google to find them.
I’m beginning to gage interest in a second AI for Business Owners Cohort. My first one with 14 business owners kicks off next week. Register here if you’d be interested in participating in the next 8 week cohort.