How AI Search Works in 2026: How HubSpot Increased AI Traffic and Demand by 40% with AEO

AI search is transforming how buyers discover solutions, and most marketers are missing the opportunity. In 2025, 60% of Google searches resulted in zero clicks, while conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI overviews became the new front door for customers.

Join Christina Clark, Head of Product Growth at HubSpot, to learn the proven strategies her team used to increase AI referral traffic and demand by 40% through Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Christina will share the frameworks, tools, and tactical approaches that helped HubSpot pioneer AEO, and how you can apply these same principles to drive qualified conversions in the AI-powered search era.

In this session, you'll learn:

• The AI Search Landscape: How answer engines process content differently than traditional search, and why your SEO playbook needs an upgrade
• HubSpot's AEO Framework: The methodology Christina's team built to optimize for AI discoverability, accuracy, and performance across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews
• Measurable Results: How HubSpot achieved 40% growth in AI-driven traffic and demand, with 4x higher conversion rates and 13x higher MRR from AI referral visitors
• Tools to Get Started Today: How to use HubSpot's free AEO Grader to benchmark your brand recognition, sentiment, and share of voice across answer engines—plus track AI referral traffic in your analytics

Who should attend

Growth marketers, demand gen leaders, content strategists, and SEO professionals at B2B companies looking to capture demand in AI-powered search environments—especially HubSpot users who want to leverage the platform's latest AEO capabilities.

About the speaker

Christina Clark leads Product Growth at HubSpot, where she spearheads key growth initiatives that help shape HubSpot's broader marketing strategy. Her team's work to research, experiment, and standardize AEO frameworks has become foundational to how the organization approaches AI-driven search optimization. Christina specializes in translating emerging technical trends into scalable growth strategies that deliver measurable business impact.