AI Prompts vs Traditional Search Queries: What We Learned from Crescendo Agency’s Data

With tools like Similarweb and Profound now revealing the top prompts driving traffic from AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, we’re entering a new era in search behavior. And thanks to these insights, we can now directly compare traditional search queries from Google with AI-generated prompts to uncover key differences in user behavior—and how it impacts visibility.

At Crescendo Agency, we’ve analyzed this shift in-depth, comparing traffic drivers to our site from both Google and AI search engines. The insights have been game-changing.

1. Whole Page vs Chunk-Level Visibility

In Google Search, our pages typically rank for a group of closely related, short-tail keywords—like:

• “AEO agency”

• “SEO agency Singapore”

• “B2B SEO agency”

These reflect traditional SEO logic: a page = one topic = ranked for a narrow set of intent-aligned keywords.

But with LLM search, it’s completely different.

We found our homepage cited on ChatGPT and Perplexity in response to questions like:

• “Which agencies help SMEs implement AI into their workflows?”

• “Can you suggest an automation partner for SaaS companies in Southeast Asia?”

• “What is the best AI automation agency for digital marketing agencies?”

These long-tail, conversational prompts didn’t match the queries we optimize for in traditional SEO. Some were even in French or Thai. Yet our site still appeared—often via content snippets or chunks, not the whole page.

2. Search Behavior Shift: Queries vs Prompts

When analyzing a blog post we wrote—“How AI Is Transforming Lead Generation for Agencies”—Google search traffic was mostly from:

• “AI for lead generation”

• “AEO agency”

• “B2B lead gen strategies”

But AI search platforms showed traffic came from prompts like:

• “How can small agencies use AI to scale client acquisition?”

• “What tools help automate prospecting in digital marketing?”

• “What are the top AI workflows for agency growth?”

These prompts were broader, highly personalized, and required synthesis, not just matching keywords.

In many cases, our blog wasn’t even ranking on Google for those queries but LLMs picked us due to topical depth, examples, and credibility.

3. Personalization: The Unseen Layer

In traditional search, content ranking is mostly static. Everyone sees similar SERPs.

But AI search is deeply personalized.

We discovered Crescendo was being cited in AI answers where the user context included:

• Interest in “white-label AEO services”

• Search history related to “AEO agency ”

• Prior prompts about “visibility optimization in Singapore”

Our page wasn’t optimized for these combinations but LLMs connected the dots.

This shows how structured content, consistent branding, and entity clarity (like schema markup and strong internal linking) can drive visibility in ways traditional SEO wouldn’t.

4. Multilingual & Cross-Intent Prompts

We’ve also seen prompts in Thai, French, and Spanish referring to Crescendo Agency. Things like:

• “Quelle est la meilleure agence d'automatisation pour les PME?”

• “¿Qué agencia puede ayudar a automatizar mis flujos de trabajo con IA?”

Even though we don’t actively target these languages in SEO, AI search picked up our multilingual testimonials, case studies, and LinkedIn activity—suggesting LLMs value broader entity presence across the web.

Key Takeaways From Crescendo’s Analysis

So What Should You Do Now?

At Crescendo, this data led us to rethink our content entirely. We now:

• Optimize individual content blocks for citation (not just full pages)

• Add Q&A-style sections, even in blog posts and service pages

• Use schema markup aggressively (FAQ, How-To, Organization)

• Produce content in multiple languages when relevant

• Invest in entity clarity: brand mentions, PR, and expert features

We’ve even created a custom LLM SEO content framework, adapted from our AEO strategy, helping clients get cited inside AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini—not just on Google.

Want to See It in Action?

We’ll soon release our AI Search Optimization Playbook—a checklist covering:

• Prompt-friendly formatting

• Citation-worthiness

• Context-aware structuring

• Language diversification

• And how to reverse-engineer visibility on AI tools

In the meantime, you can explore how we apply this live on our own site:
👉 AEO Agency