Owning the Next Channel Early: How Pieo Turned AI Search into a High-Intent Lead Engine

10%
Of Leads from AI Search (from 1% of Traffic)
Industry
Corporate Services
- Introduction

Paid Search was performing. Efficiency had improved. But costs continued to rise, and reliance on a single acquisition channel created exposure. The objective was clear: build a new, scalable source of demand that could reduce dependency on paid media without compromising lead quality. Pieo identified AI Search as an emerging channel with untapped potential and moved early to test its commercial impact.

The Challenge of Channel Concentration

The business had a strong Paid Search engine, but structural risks were building:

  • Rising CPCs were putting pressure on acquisition costs
  • Growth remained tied to paid demand capture rather than demand creation
  • Organic search followed traditional patterns, with long journeys from visit to conversion

There was a need to diversify into channels that could generate high-intent demand more efficiently.

Our Approach

1. Build Around Real Buyer Conversations
We started with the source of truth: sales interactions.

  • Identified recurring buyer pain points, objections, and decision triggers
  • Developed content designed to answer these questions directly
  • Structured content to reflect how prospects actually evaluate solutions

This ensured relevance from the outset.

2. Optimise for AI Search, Not Traditional SEO
The strategy shifted from keywords to intent:

  • Focused on question-led content aligned with AI search behaviour
  • Implemented structured data and schema to improve machine readability
  • Designed content to be surfaced, interpreted, and summarised within AI-driven platforms

Visibility was built for how search is evolving, not how it worked historically.

3. Measure What Actually Matters
Early data revealed a non-obvious pattern:

  • AI Search accounted for ~1% of traffic
  • The same channel drove ~10% of total leads

User behaviour differed significantly. Prospects engaged with content within AI platforms and only visited the website when ready to take action.

This shifted how performance was evaluated. Traffic volume became less relevant than conversion efficiency and lead quality.

Results

  • 10% of leads generated from AI Search Channels
  • High-intent prospects entering the funnel at later stages
  • Reduced reliance on Paid Search as a sole growth driver
  • A validated, scalable framework for AI Search optimisation

AI Search moved from experiment to a credible acquisition channel.

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- Feedback

"AI Search wasn’t on our roadmap before, now it’s a meaningful source of high-quality inbound. What stood out was how intentional the approach was. The content directly reflects the conversations we’re already having with prospects, which means the leads arriving are informed and ready to move. Seeing a channel drive 10% of leads from such a small share of traffic changed how we think about growth. It’s now a core part of our strategy, not just an experiment."

CMO