How Dick Lovett Increased AI Search Visibility While Organic Click Behaviour Declined
Search is changing.
For automotive brands like Dick Lovett, visibility is no longer just about rankings and traffic. AI driven search experiences are reshaping how customers discover, evaluate and choose vehicles, often without ever clicking through to a website.
Over the past two quarters, we have worked with Dick Lovett to adapt to this shift. The result is a measurable increase in AI visibility across high value queries, alongside strong organic growth, despite industry wide declines in click through rates.
Challenge
The traditional SEO model is under pressure. While organic visibility continued to grow, underlying performance metrics told a different story:
- Impressions increased significantly
- Rankings improved across key commercial terms
- But click through rates declined sharply
At the same time, the search results page itself was evolving:
- AI Overviews appearing across more queries
- More users getting answers without clicking
- Organic listings pushed further down the page
For Dick Lovett, this created a clear challenge:
How do you maintain growth when visibility no longer guarantees traffic?
What We Saw in the Data
Visibility Up, Clicks Down
Across Q1 2026:
- Impressions increased by 59 percent
- Page 1 to 3 keyword visibility grew significantly
- But clicks declined by 13 percent
- CTR dropped by 45 percent
This was not a performance issue. It was a behaviour shift. Users were still searching.
They just were not clicking in the same way.
AI Search Is Now Part of the Journey
We also identified a clear shift in how users were discovering Dick Lovett through AI platforms:
- Google AI Overview mentions increased by 27 percent
- Pages appearing in AI results increased by 21 percent
- Google Gemini visibility grew by 284 percent
- ChatGPT driven visibility expanded across more pages
More importantly, this visibility was not limited to informational queries.
Dick Lovett was appearing in AI results for high intent searches such as:
- BMW model queries
- Range Rover pricing
- PCP and finance related terms
This marked a fundamental shift:
AI was not just influencing research. It was shaping purchase decisions.
Strategy
To respond, we evolved the approach beyond traditional SEO.
Rather than focusing purely on rankings and traffic, we built a connected strategy designed to influence:
- What users see
- What AI platforms surface
- How journeys move from research to enquiry
1. Expanding High Intent Content
We focused on building visibility across the full search journey, not just bottom funnel queries.
Key initiatives included:
- Scaling the EV Hub as a high volume research destination
- Expanding model level and manufacturer content
- Optimising new car and dealership pages for commercial intent
- Improving internal linking from informational to transactional pages
This ensured Dick Lovett was visible at every stage, from early research through to conversion.
2. Improving SERP Messaging
With click through rates declining across the industry, we prioritised:
- Title tag and meta description testing on high value pages
- Identifying page one rankings with below benchmark CTR
- Aligning messaging with user intent and AI generated summaries
The focus shifted from ranking higher to making every impression work harder.
3. Digital PR to Build Authority and AI Inclusion
AI visibility is not random. It is driven by authority signals.
We aligned Digital PR activity directly with SEO and AI outcomes:
- Data led campaigns designed to earn high authority coverage
- Brand mentions across relevant automotive and consumer publications
- Content designed to be cited, referenced and surfaced in AI results
Campaigns such as:
- EV vs fuel cost comparisons
- Road tax changes analysis
- Automotive trend and insight pieces
Delivered:
- Strong media coverage
- High quality backlinks
- Increased brand presence across the web
These signals directly support how AI platforms select and reference brands.
4. Structuring Content for AI Discovery
Beyond visibility, we focused on how content is interpreted.
This included:
- Enhancing structured data and schema markup
- Improving content clarity and entity alignment
- Creating pages designed to answer specific queries directly
- Supporting eligibility for rich results and AI summaries
The goal was simple:
Make it easy for both users and AI to understand and trust the content.
Results
Strong Organic Growth
- Organic sessions increased by 5 percent year on year
- Used car enquiries increased by 14 percent
- Valuation requests increased by 52 percent
- Returning users increased significantly
AI Visibility Growth
- Google AI Overview visibility increased materially
- Presence expanded across ChatGPT and Gemini
- Coverage extended into high value commercial queries
Increased Efficiency
While clicks declined overall, performance became more efficient:
- More visibility across high intent searches
- Stronger alignment between content and user intent
- Improved conversion signals from key areas
What This Means
The key takeaway is not just performance.
It is a shift in how search works.
- Visibility no longer guarantees traffic
- Click through rate is no longer the primary measure of success
- AI platforms are now part of the customer journey
For brands, this means:
Winning in search is no longer about being ranked. It is about being referenced.
Looking Ahead
For Dick Lovett, the focus now is on:
- Converting AI visibility into measurable demand
- Strengthening journeys from research to enquiry
- Expanding presence across emerging AI platforms
- Continuing to build authority through integrated campaigns
Search is evolving quickly.
But for brands willing to adapt, the opportunity is clear:
Be present where decisions are being made, even if those decisions happen before the click.
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Tell us about your brand and we'll show you exactly where the biggest search opportunities are — and how we'd go after them.
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