Why Clicks Don’t Count: What the Best CMOs Are Tracking Now
This guide breaks down how CMOs and marketing directors can replace outdated KPIs with AI-aware metrics that better track modern buyer behavior.
TL;DR
AI has changed how people discover brands. Traditional metrics like clicks, bounce rate, and ROAS don’t reflect this shift. This blog covers the four metrics that actually matter in today’s fragmented, zero-click landscape, and the tools you need to track them.
Who This Is For
- CMOs and VP-level marketing leaders looking to modernize reporting.
- Marketing directors who want more accurate, AI-aware metrics.
- eCommerce and B2B teams struggling with GA4 blind spots.
- Anyone frustrated by rising spend and vague attribution.
AI is quietly wrecking your marketing reports. From ChatGPT to Google’s AI Overviews, customers are making decisions without ever visiting your site. If your dashboards still prioritize clicks and pageviews, you’re flying blind.
We spoke with two experts who live and breathe performance marketing: Rebecca Antonellis, VP of SEO for eCommerce, and Meghan Houston, VP of Digital Marketing Strategy. They’ve seen firsthand how AI is reshaping the way brands are discovered and how marketing success is measured.
The Discovery Shift Has Already Happened
Antonellis remembers the moment it clicked. “I was reviewing a client’s traffic drop and noticed their rankings hadn’t changed, but their traffic had tanked. That’s when we realized AI Overviews were stealing the spotlight.”
Today, buyers ask questions and get answers without clicking a single link. Platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are delivering summaries right in the results.
The reality:
- 27% of Google search result pages now include AI Overviews.
- 2.5 billion prompts are sent to ChatGPT daily (Axios, July 2025).
- 34.5% drop in clicks when AI Overviews appear.
To stay discoverable, your brand must show up where buyers are looking, not just where they used to click.
Why Traditional Metrics Fail in an AI-Driven Market
Meghan Houston sees it all the time: reports full of numbers that look impressive but explain nothing.
“We still see teams celebrating bounce rates and pageviews while wondering why pipeline is flat. There’s a gap between what marketing measures and what drives the business forward.”
Here are the outdated habits they call out most:
- ROAS inflated by branded terms.
- SEO and social metrics with no connection to pipeline.
- Reports built on bounce rate and sessions.
- Attribution models that assume a clean, linear journey.
“Most brands are still optimizing for clicks in a world where discovery happens without them,” said Antonellis. “It’s time to redefine success.”
“We’re spending more to get less insight.” — common CMO feedback the team hears during audits
“GA4 isn’t broken,” Houston added. “It just wasn’t built for the real way people research today.”
4 Metrics That Actually Reflect Buyer Behavior
Antonellis and Houston want marketers to think beyond their own websites. Here’s how they recommend measuring influence that actually matters:
1. AI visibility
Is your brand appearing in AI-generated summaries and answer engines? Tools like ChatGPT and Google Overviews are often the first touch.
Houston also noted that ChatGPT has teased an integration with Shopify. “If you’re an eCommerce brand, this is the time to get your product and content structure in shape. Visibility in these tools will only grow more important.”
Use tools like Ahrefs to identify keywords that appear in AI Overviews and check if your content is showing up in the summaries.
2. Brand influence
Track direct traffic spikes, brand searches, and off-site mentions. If you’re in the conversation, it should show up in those signals.
3. Pipeline-aligned performance
Shift focus to MER (media efficiency ratio) and CPA, metrics that connect marketing effort to revenue.
4. AI traffic detection
Scan server logs for signs of discovery through AI, like visits from the ChatGPT-User agent.
Antonellis shared an eye-opening stat: “One client had 490 ChatGPT hits in a day. GA4 showed only three sessions. That’s how invisible this behavior is to traditional analytics.”
Want to know where your brand stands?
Get your free AI visibility review to find out what your current reports are missing.
Real Questions from CMOs Like You and Marketing Directors
These aren’t just theory, they’re the questions your peers are asking in live sessions.
Q: Is it harder for B2B brands to show up in AI answers?
A (Meghan): Yes, but not because AI ignores them. B2B buyers use more sources and take longer to convert. If your content doesn’t travel across those channels, you’re out before you know someone was even looking.
Q: Does keyword rank still matter?
A (Rebecca): It helps, but it’s not the full picture. Pair it with impression share and AI visibility to know what people actually see.
The Tools Built for a New Era
To close the measurement gap, Agital developed tools specifically for AI-era marketers:
- Similarity Score Extension: see how your brand appears in AI-generated summaries.
The Proof: Solly Baby’s Results
Go Fish Digital helped Solly Baby grow revenue by 46% year-over-year while cutting acquisition costs by 15%, without increasing their marketing spend.
The secret wasn’t spending more. It was measuring smarter, finding budget leaks, and using AI visibility to guide strategy.
What This Means for You
- Your brand is being discovered without clicks.
- Most dashboards miss this activity completely.
- Legacy KPIs aren’t telling the full story.
- New metrics can reveal unseen opportunities.
- CMOs who adapt now will enter Q4 with clarity, not confusion.
Ready to stop guessing?
Book your free AI review and start seeing the full picture.
