What Still Gets Clicked in the Age of AI
As AI eats the SERP, marketers are rethinking how to earn attention, and where it even lives now.
Let’s not pretend we’re still debating whether to use AI. That ship sailed sometime between the third ChatGPT update and the moment your intern asked if they could “just prompt it.” The real question now is how to use AI without sounding like everyone else who’s also using AI. Because here’s the thing; the tools are getting better, but so is the noise. And the SERP? It’s turning into a zero-click zone.
So today’s two stories land on opposite ends of the same problem. One’s about how to prompt smarter. The other’s about what keywords still have a pulse. Both are about survival.
The Prompt Is the Strategy Now
HubSpot just published a guide to ChatGPT prompts that’s actually worth bookmarking. Not because the prompts are groundbreaking, though some are pretty clever, but because of how they approach the whole thing. It’s not “plug this in and get magic.” It’s more like: here’s how to think about prompting if you want outputs you can actually use.
They break it down into 33 prompts across the funnel. Stuff like summarizing sales calls, building 90-day campaign calendars, writing nurture sequences. But the real gold is in how they frame the prompts; stack context, be specific, clarify the task. Basically, treat ChatGPT like a junior strategist, not a vending machine.
This also lines up with their recent AI usage data. Apparently, 88% of marketers are already using ChatGPT, and 64% say it’s made them more productive. Which sounds about right—until you realize
productivity doesn’t always equal performance. You can move faster without moving forward.
That’s why HubSpot’s angle here matters. They’re not selling AI as a shortcut; they’re framing it as a multiplier. One that only works if you feed it the right ingredients.
For senior marketers, this is your cue to stop handing off AI to the intern and start building internal prompt libraries. Make them brand-specific. Tie them to funnel stages. Use them to scale what’s already working. Otherwise, you’re just generating more content that no one reads.
Now, About That SERP Black Hole
Of course, even the smartest AI-generated content is useless if no one sees it. And right now, the SERP is getting swallowed by AI Overviews. You’ve probably noticed; fewer Featured Snippets, more Google-generated summaries, and a lot more scrolling to get to an actual link.
Ahrefs just dropped a study on what they’re calling “AI-proof” keywords, terms that still get clicks even after Google’s March 2024 rollout of AI Overviews. They looked at 1,393 keywords and found that only 7% held or improved their click-through rate post-AI. Seven percent. That’s not a margin; that’s a lifeboat.
So, what survived? Mostly queries with utility baked in. Think “free invoice generator,” “email subject line tester,” or anything that sounds like someone’s trying to get something done, not just learn about it. Also, newer keywords that haven’t been swallowed by AI summaries yet, and terms where Google’s AI doesn’t show up first.
The takeaway? Keyword strategy isn’t about volume anymore; it’s about click resilience. If your content can’t compete with Google’s own summary box, you’d better be offering something it can’t summarize. Like a tool. Or a perspective. Or a really good reason to click.
A Few Extra Breadcrumbs
If you’re still clinging to Featured Snippets, it might be time to
let go. Ahrefs has a solid breakdown of how SERP features are evolving, and it’s not exactly cheerful.
Meanwhile, if you’re in the HVAC space—or just curious about niche
CRMs—HubSpot’s got a new guide for that too.
And if you’re still writing executive summaries that read like committee reports, there’s help for that.
That’s it for today, folks.
Catch you in the next post.
Until then, keep building.
– Perfect Sites Blog