Graphite Growth — Research Driven Growth Agency
GraphiteA Research Driven Growth Agency
Our AI research team identifies the 5% of strategies that drive impact in AEO, SEO & performance marketing. We help companies like Webflow, n8n & Hinge Health grow revenue without waste.
Research
The Team
AI is 4x-5x Bigger Than You Think
Sessions (billions, est.)
| month |
AI |
Search Engines |
| Jan 2021 |
0 |
81.3 |
| Feb 2021 |
0 |
74 |
| Mar 2021 |
0 |
81.1 |
| Apr 2021 |
0 |
77.6 |
| May 2021 |
0 |
80.4 |
| Jun 2021 |
0 |
79.3 |
| Jul 2021 |
0 |
80.7 |
| Aug 2021 |
0 |
81.2 |
| Sep 2021 |
0 |
79.2 |
| Oct 2021 |
0 |
81.3 |
| Nov 2021 |
0 |
79.7 |
| Dec 2021 |
0 |
80.9 |
| Jan 2022 |
0 |
82.1 |
| Feb 2022 |
0 |
74.2 |
| Mar 2022 |
0 |
81.7 |
| Apr 2022 |
0 |
77.9 |
| May 2022 |
0 |
80.4 |
| Jun 2022 |
0 |
77.2 |
| Jul 2022 |
0 |
78.9 |
| Aug 2022 |
0 |
79.2 |
| Sep 2022 |
0 |
76.6 |
| Oct 2022 |
0 |
78.7 |
| Nov 2022 |
0 |
76.8 |
| Dec 2022 |
0.3 |
82.6 |
| Jan 2023 |
0.6 |
84 |
| Feb 2023 |
1 |
76.1 |
| Mar 2023 |
1.9 |
84.3 |
| Apr 2023 |
1.9 |
80.4 |
| May 2023 |
2 |
83.9 |
| Jun 2023 |
1.7 |
80.8 |
| Jul 2023 |
1.7 |
81.7 |
| Aug 2023 |
1.7 |
82.2 |
| Sep 2023 |
1.7 |
79.2 |
| Oct 2023 |
2 |
82.1 |
| Nov 2023 |
4 |
79.4 |
| Dec 2023 |
4 |
80.4 |
| Jan 2024 |
4.2 |
82 |
| Feb 2024 |
4.5 |
76.6 |
| Mar 2024 |
4.9 |
81.3 |
| Apr 2024 |
5.1 |
79.2 |
| May 2024 |
6.9 |
81.8 |
| Jun 2024 |
7.1 |
78.2 |
| Jul 2024 |
7.4 |
81.2 |
| Aug 2024 |
8.7 |
80.5 |
| Sep 2024 |
10.7 |
78.6 |
| Oct 2024 |
13.4 |
81.4 |
| Nov 2024 |
15.3 |
78.8 |
| Dec 2024 |
16.7 |
80.6 |
| Jan 2025 |
18.9 |
81.9 |
| Feb 2025 |
20.2 |
73.4 |
| Mar 2025 |
26.5 |
80.8 |
| Apr 2025 |
33.9 |
78.4 |
| May 2025 |
39.1 |
80.7 |
| Jun 2025 |
41.7 |
78.8 |
| Jul 2025 |
46.3 |
81.9 |
| Aug 2025 |
45.3 |
81.4 |
| Sep 2025 |
43.9 |
79.5 |
| Oct 2025 |
45.4 |
82 |
| Nov 2025 |
45.1 |
78.9 |
| Dec 2025 |
45.2 |
81.2 |
SEO Is Not Dying, The Pie Is Getting Bigger
Sessions (billions, est.)
| month |
Search Engines |
AI |
| Jan 2021 |
81.3 |
0 |
| Feb 2021 |
74 |
0 |
| Mar 2021 |
81.1 |
0 |
| Apr 2021 |
77.6 |
0 |
| May 2021 |
80.4 |
0 |
| Jun 2021 |
79.3 |
0 |
| Jul 2021 |
80.7 |
0 |
| Aug 2021 |
81.2 |
0 |
| Sep 2021 |
79.2 |
0 |
| Oct 2021 |
81.3 |
0 |
| Nov 2021 |
79.7 |
0 |
| Dec 2021 |
80.9 |
0 |
| Jan 2022 |
82.1 |
0 |
| Feb 2022 |
74.2 |
0 |
| Mar 2022 |
81.7 |
0 |
| Apr 2022 |
77.9 |
0 |
| May 2022 |
80.4 |
0 |
| Jun 2022 |
77.2 |
0 |
| Jul 2022 |
78.9 |
0 |
| Aug 2022 |
79.2 |
0 |
| Sep 2022 |
76.6 |
0 |
| Oct 2022 |
78.7 |
0 |
| Nov 2022 |
76.8 |
0 |
| Dec 2022 |
82.6 |
0.1 |
| Jan 2023 |
84 |
0.3 |
| Feb 2023 |
76.1 |
0.5 |
| Mar 2023 |
84.3 |
0.9 |
| Apr 2023 |
80.4 |
0.9 |
| May 2023 |
83.9 |
0.9 |
| Jun 2023 |
80.8 |
0.8 |
| Jul 2023 |
81.7 |
0.8 |
| Aug 2023 |
82.2 |
0.8 |
| Sep 2023 |
79.2 |
0.8 |
| Oct 2023 |
82.1 |
0.9 |
| Nov 2023 |
79.4 |
1.9 |
| Dec 2023 |
80.4 |
1.9 |
| Jan 2024 |
82 |
2 |
| Feb 2024 |
76.6 |
2.1 |
| Mar 2024 |
81.3 |
2.3 |
| Apr 2024 |
79.2 |
2.4 |
| May 2024 |
81.8 |
3.2 |
| Jun 2024 |
78.2 |
3.3 |
| Jul 2024 |
81.2 |
3.4 |
| Aug 2024 |
80.5 |
4 |
| Sep 2024 |
78.6 |
5.1 |
| Oct 2024 |
81.4 |
6.2 |
| Nov 2024 |
78.8 |
7.2 |
| Dec 2024 |
80.6 |
8 |
| Jan 2025 |
81.9 |
9.6 |
| Feb 2025 |
73.4 |
10.4 |
| Mar 2025 |
80.8 |
13.4 |
| Apr 2025 |
78.4 |
17.4 |
| May 2025 |
80.7 |
18.2 |
| Jun 2025 |
78.8 |
21.5 |
| Jul 2025 |
81.9 |
23 |
| Aug 2025 |
81.4 |
22.5 |
| Sep 2025 |
79.5 |
21.9 |
| Oct 2025 |
82 |
22.6 |
| Nov 2025 |
78.9 |
22.5 |
| Dec 2025 |
81.2 |
22.5 |
n8n Drives 9% Of Conversions Via AEO
% of conversion from channel
| channel |
Last-touch (GA4) |
Self-reported (survey) |
| Google Search |
7 |
30 |
| AI/LLM |
0.9 |
9 |
Half Of All Content Is Now Generated By AI
Primarily AI-generated articles (%)
| period |
AI |
Human |
| 2020-Q1 |
0.97 |
99.03 |
| 2020-Q2 |
0.9 |
99.1 |
| 2020-Q3 |
0.95 |
99.05 |
| 2020-Q4 |
0.64 |
99.36 |
| 2021-Q1 |
1.04 |
98.96 |
| 2021-Q2 |
1.23 |
98.77 |
| 2021-Q3 |
0.89 |
99.11 |
| 2021-Q4 |
1.18 |
98.82 |
| 2022-Q1 |
1.54 |
98.46 |
| 2022-Q2 |
2.37 |
97.63 |
| 2022-Q3 |
3.85 |
96.15 |
| 2022-Q4 |
4.6 |
95.4 |
| 2023-Q1 |
14.02 |
85.98 |
| 2023-Q2 |
25.14 |
74.86 |
| 2023-Q3 |
33.69 |
66.31 |
| 2023-Q4 |
35.92 |
64.08 |
| 2024-Q1 |
38.23 |
61.77 |
| 2024-Q2 |
37.22 |
62.78 |
| 2024-Q3 |
41.81 |
58.19 |
| 2024-Q4 |
47.04 |
52.96 |
| 2025-Q1 |
49.61 |
50.39 |
| 2025-Q2 |
44.58 |
55.42 |
| 2025-Q3 |
49.22 |
50.78 |
| 2025-Q4 |
50.9 |
49.1 |
| 2026-Q1 |
49.94 |
50.06 |
But, It Doesn’t Rank In Search
AI-generated articles by position (%)
| position |
AI-generated by position |
AI-generated overall |
| 1 |
7.7 |
13.8 |
| 2 |
9.3 |
13.8 |
| 3 |
11.3 |
13.8 |
| 4 |
13.3 |
13.8 |
| 5 |
12.5 |
13.8 |
| 6 |
13.6 |
13.8 |
| 7 |
13 |
13.8 |
| 8 |
13.3 |
13.8 |
| 9 |
14.1 |
13.8 |
| 10 |
13.8 |
13.8 |
| 11 |
14.3 |
13.8 |
| 12 |
14.8 |
13.8 |
| 13 |
15 |
13.8 |
| 14 |
14.7 |
13.8 |
| 15 |
14.7 |
13.8 |
| 16 |
15 |
13.8 |
| 17 |
15.5 |
13.8 |
| 18 |
15.7 |
13.8 |
| 19 |
16.1 |
13.8 |
| 20 |
16 |
13.8 |
If AI-Generated Content Ranks In AI, It Causes Collapse
Simulations of AI retrieving its own content ending in collapse (%)
| sim |
Collapsed at start (%) |
Collapsed at end (%) |
| Replace All |
2.97 |
88.12 |
| Replace One |
2.97 |
88.12 |
| Search |
1.98 |
77.23 |
Case Studies
Webflow 2x'd Sign-Ups from LLMs
AI search referral signups (K)
| month |
AI search referral signups (K) |
| Jan 2024 |
0.719 |
| Feb 2024 |
0.386 |
| Mar 2024 |
0.337 |
| Apr 2024 |
0.243 |
| May 2024 |
0.105 |
| Jun 2024 |
0.091 |
| Jul 2024 |
0.193 |
| Aug 2024 |
1.348 |
| Sep 2024 |
3.031 |
| Oct 2024 |
3.002 |
| Nov 2024 |
4.294 |
| Dec 2024 |
5.609 |
| Jan 2025 |
6.412 |
| Feb 2025 |
6.161 |
| Mar 2025 |
7.126 |
| Apr 2025 |
11.157 |
| May 2025 |
14.231 |
| Jun 2025 |
12.727 |
| Jul 2025 |
12.563 |
Fourthwall Increased Search Revenue by 936% in 9 Months
| month |
value |
| Aug 2021 |
0.01K |
| Sep 2021 |
0.022K |
| Oct 2021 |
0.024K |
| Nov 2021 |
0.051K |
| Dec 2021 |
0.265K |
| Jan 2022 |
0.396K |
| Feb 2022 |
2.034K |
| Mar 2022 |
3.197K |
| Apr 2022 |
4.209K |
| May 2022 |
4.474K |
| Jun 2022 |
3.646K |
| Jul 2022 |
3.928K |
| Aug 2022 |
4.632K |
| Sep 2022 |
5.23K |
| Oct 2022 |
5.542K |
| Nov 2022 |
5.948K |
| Dec 2022 |
5.833K |
| Jan 2023 |
6.155K |
| Feb 2023 |
6.921K |
| Mar 2023 |
7.907K |
| Apr 2023 |
7.922K |
| May 2023 |
8.744K |
| Jun 2023 |
11.018K |
| Jul 2023 |
15.218K |
| Aug 2023 |
17.149K |
| Sep 2023 |
16.812K |
| Oct 2023 |
18.129K |
| Nov 2023 |
20.646K |
| Dec 2023 |
24.861K |
| Jan 2024 |
24.934K |
| Feb 2024 |
29.046K |
| Mar 2024 |
36.261K |
| Apr 2024 |
52.142K |
| May 2024 |
55.811K |
| Jun 2024 |
67.211K |
| Jul 2024 |
76.218K |
| Aug 2024 |
78.056K |
| Sep 2024 |
82.892K |
| Oct 2024 |
78.804K |
| Nov 2024 |
85.853K |
| Dec 2024 |
89.706K |
| Jan 2025 |
121.389K |
| Feb 2025 |
116.018K |
| Mar 2025 |
127.473K |
| Apr 2025 |
148.075K |
| May 2025 |
171.013K |
| Jun 2025 |
152.655K |
| Jul 2025 |
149.11K |
BetterUp Grew Monthly Organic Traffic from 74K to 3.8M
| month |
value |
| Aug 2021 |
0.074M |
| Sep 2021 |
0.15M |
| Oct 2021 |
0.231M |
| Nov 2021 |
0.258M |
| Dec 2021 |
0.271M |
| Jan 2022 |
0.417M |
| Feb 2022 |
0.63M |
| Mar 2022 |
0.776M |
| Apr 2022 |
0.939M |
| May 2022 |
1.045M |
| Jun 2022 |
1.048M |
| Jul 2022 |
1.162M |
| Aug 2022 |
1.283M |
| Sep 2022 |
1.366M |
| Oct 2022 |
1.634M |
| Nov 2022 |
1.837M |
| Dec 2022 |
1.729M |
| Jan 2023 |
2.029M |
| Feb 2023 |
2.109M |
| Mar 2023 |
2.213M |
| Apr 2023 |
2.413M |
| May 2023 |
2.481M |
| Jun 2023 |
2.606M |
| Jul 2023 |
2.685M |
| Aug 2023 |
2.907M |
| Sep 2023 |
3.222M |
| Oct 2023 |
3.499M |
| Nov 2023 |
3.486M |
| Dec 2023 |
3.135M |
| Jan 2024 |
3.749M |
| Feb 2024 |
3.782M |
| Mar 2024 |
3.295M |
| Apr 2024 |
2.705M |
| May 2024 |
2.723M |
| Jun 2024 |
2.329M |
MasterClass Grew Monthly Non-Branded Traffic from 0 to 571K
| month |
value |
| Jan 2018 |
0.147M |
| Feb 2018 |
0.104M |
| Mar 2018 |
0.112M |
| Apr 2018 |
0.131M |
| May 2018 |
0.131M |
| Jun 2018 |
0.131M |
| Jul 2018 |
0.155M |
| Aug 2018 |
0.155M |
| Sep 2018 |
0.138M |
| Oct 2018 |
0.137M |
| Nov 2018 |
0.153M |
| Dec 2018 |
0.183M |
| Jan 2019 |
0.172M |
| Feb 2019 |
0.181M |
| Mar 2019 |
0.181M |
| Apr 2019 |
0.217M |
| May 2019 |
0.281M |
| Jun 2019 |
0.318M |
| Jul 2019 |
0.386M |
| Aug 2019 |
0.471M |
| Sep 2019 |
0.558M |
| Oct 2019 |
0.597M |
| Nov 2019 |
0.726M |
| Dec 2019 |
0.906M |
| Jan 2020 |
0.846M |
| Feb 2020 |
0.855M |
| Mar 2020 |
1.178M |
| Apr 2020 |
2.045M |
| May 2020 |
1.766M |
| Jun 2020 |
1.395M |
| Jul 2020 |
1.306M |
| Aug 2020 |
1.413M |
| Sep 2020 |
1.873M |
| Oct 2020 |
2.237M |
| Nov 2020 |
2.446M |
| Dec 2020 |
3.109M |
| Jan 2021 |
3.474M |
| Feb 2021 |
3.996M |
| Mar 2021 |
3.979M |
| Apr 2021 |
3.822M |
| May 2021 |
3.834M |
| Jun 2021 |
3.717M |
| Jul 2021 |
3.295M |
| Aug 2021 |
3.479M |
| Sep 2021 |
4.354M |
| Oct 2021 |
4.823M |
| Nov 2021 |
5.102M |
| Dec 2021 |
5.294M |
| Jan 2022 |
6.133M |
| Feb 2022 |
6.71M |
| Mar 2022 |
7.24M |
| Apr 2022 |
7.288M |
| May 2022 |
7.274M |
| Jun 2022 |
7.009M |
| Jul 2022 |
7.025M |
| Aug 2022 |
7.221M |
| Sep 2022 |
7.401M |
| Oct 2022 |
7.515M |
| Nov 2022 |
7.01M |
| Dec 2022 |
6.958M |
| Jan 2023 |
7.669M |
| Feb 2023 |
6.645M |
| Mar 2023 |
6.973M |
| Apr 2023 |
6.706M |
| May 2023 |
6.599M |
| Jun 2023 |
6.211M |
| Jul 2023 |
6.609M |
| Aug 2023 |
6.402M |
| Sep 2023 |
6.862M |
| Oct 2023 |
6.654M |
| Nov 2023 |
6.412M |
| Dec 2023 |
6.244M |