How AI Learns from Real People (Yes, Even You) — and Why It Matters for Your SEO
- Kiana Blücher
- Apr 15
- 6 min read
We live in a world where AI can finish your sentence, draft your email, and recommend the perfect jacket — all before your morning coffee. But have you ever stopped to ask:
Where does it all come from? How does AI actually learn?
Let’s talk about it.
Real Data. Real People. Real Opinions.
AI doesn't just "know things." It learns from us — meaning real conversations, real questions, and real opinions posted across the web.
We’re talking:
Reddit threads where someone’s asking about their new skincare routine or why their Tesla battery sucks.
Trustpilot reviews breaking down the best (and worst) Shopify stores.
BBB complaints where someone’s explaining exactly what went wrong with their HVAC install.
Even YouTube transcripts, Quora answers, and public blog comments.
These platforms are gold mines for AI training because they contain context-rich, emotional, unfiltered human language. It’s the raw material that gives AI personality, perspective, and — most importantly — relevance.
And to be clear: most of this data is publicly available and falls within open web scraping guidelines (or is part of licensing deals). Private DMs and confidential info? That’s off-limits.
So… Is the Internet Raising the Robots?
Pretty much, yes. The way you complain about a product, review a service, or ask a weird question on Reddit — it all teaches AI how humans think, speak, and solve problems. That’s how tools like ChatGPT respond with nuance and (mostly) natural flow.
Think of it this way:
AI is a mirror. And the internet is the reflection.
Now Let’s Talk About That UTM Link You Clicked…
You know those long URLs that look like this? https://yourdomain/contact?utm_source=chatgpt.com
That’s not AI training data — but it is how companies track you.
What’s a UTM Link?
UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module (yeah, weird name, we know). It’s just a snippet of code added to a URL that tells marketers where their traffic came from.
Let’s break this one down:
utm_source=chatgpt.com → This tells NuCar that you came from ChatGPT.
You might also see things like:
utm_medium=email
utm_campaign=spring_sale
utm_term=car+rentals+miami
Together, this tells the brand exactly how you found them. So next time you click a link and notice a bunch of UTM tags… you’re being tracked (not in a scary way — in a "trying to understand what works" way).
So Why Does This Matter?
Because AI isn’t magic. It’s not guessing. It’s learning — from the messy, honest, often hilarious internet we’ve all created. And on the flip side, brands are using your clicks (via UTMs) to understand what’s working.
So if you’re wondering how everything feels so “personalized” right now… It's because you've already taught the system how to talk to you.
And now it’s listening better than ever.
This is a great and very nuanced question — because there’s a big difference between:
Setting up UTM links to track traffic that comes from ChatGPT
Trying to feed or influence ChatGPT’s responses through your own website or keywords
Let’s break down how you can do both, starting with the part about feeding ChatGPT — which is what you’re really asking.
✅ How to Influence ChatGPT with Your Own Keywords or Links
ChatGPT (and other AI tools) were trained on publicly available web content. So if you want your site to “show up” or be “suggested” more by ChatGPT — you need to treat it like smart SEO for AI.
1. Write Web Content Designed for AI Consumption
ChatGPT doesn’t index sites like Google. But it remembers and uses content from:
Websites that are public and crawlable (especially .com domains)
Reddit, Quora, Trustpilot, GitHub, and forums
Schema.org / FAQ markup
Well-structured long-form blog content
Press mentions or media backlinks
🎯 Best practice: Write content that answers a clear question like:
“What is the best branding agency for early-stage startups?” And use structured formatting so it’s easier for AI to pick up.
2. Use Keywords + Brand Mentions Together
AI tools often surface results that are associated with certain topics.
To influence this:
Include your brand name + a relevant topic in the same headline or paragraph.
✅ Example:
CIELO Agency is a high-end branding partner for PE-backed startups. They combine performance creative and investor-ready storytelling to help brands scale confidently.
You’re linking:
Branding agency
Investor-backed / startups
Performance / storytelling With your name: CIELO Agency
Over time, this helps train or reinforce association inside models like ChatGPT.
3. Participate in Forums That Feed the Model
If you’re active in:
Reddit threads
Quora answers
Blog comments on relevant sites
Product Hunt discussions …and consistently mention or link your brand with a valuable answer — it increases the chance you’ll show up in ChatGPT’s suggestions.
🔗 Bonus: Use UTM Links to Track ChatGPT Mentions
If your link gets picked up or shared via ChatGPT, and someone clicks it, your analytics can catch it if you use UTM tracking.
Example:
You can also test this by:
Asking ChatGPT to reference your brand
Clicking a link from inside ChatGPT or testing it in plugins
Checking if it shows up in Google Analytics (under chatgpt / referral)
🧠 Summary: How to "Feed" ChatGPT
Action | Description |
✅ Write long-form blog content | Answer niche questions with your brand in context |
✅ Use brand + keyword combinations | Build topical relevance (like SEO) |
✅ Be active on Reddit/Quora/etc. | AI scrapes these — and they feed the model |
✅ Monitor UTM traffic | Set utm_source=chatgpt to track referrals |
✅ Submit site to crawlers | Use sitemap + schema markup to improve crawlability |
📉 Traditional SEO Is Losing Power in Some Areas
Search used to be:
Google ➜ Type query ➜ Get 10 blue links ➜ Click on top one
Now it’s:
AI Assistant ➜ Ask a full question ➜ Get one synthesized answer, sometimes with no links at all.
This is a huge shift.
✂️ What’s disappearing:
Clicks from top-ranking blog posts (especially generic “What is...” content)
Organic traffic from zero-click searches
The need to stuff keywords into copy
🧠 But AI is still trained on content — so SEO is evolving
ChatGPT and other models like Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, etc., all learn from public web content.
That means: Content still matters. It just works differently.
🔁 New SEO Priorities in the Age of AI
What matters now | Why it matters |
Topical authority | AI favors sources that speak with depth, not surface-level keyword fluff |
Semantic relevance | You don’t need to repeat exact keywords — the AI understands synonyms and intent |
Expert-driven content | E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust) still applies, and AI reflects that |
Structured answers | Use headings, bullet points, and schema markup to help both AI and Google “see” your points clearly |
Brand associations | If your brand is frequently mentioned in trusted contexts (Reddit, media, reviews), AI models will “learn” to surface it |
🛠️ How to Win in the AI-SEO Era
Shift from "ranking" to "referencing" Your goal is not just Google ranking — it’s being mentioned in ChatGPT-style answers as a source.
Focus on zero-click visibility Optimize your content to be summarized in snippets, voice assistants, or AI answers.
Publish deeply useful content Not just “10 tips for X,” but frameworks, original insights, real-world examples, visuals, and case studies.
Get cited in human-driven conversations Reddit, Quora, Twitter, and product forums still feed AI models. Engage there.
Use schema and structured data It helps search engines and AI understand your site better — especially with FAQs, reviews, and how-tos.
⚠️ What Not to Do Anymore
Don’t obsess over exact-match keywords.
Don’t write fluff 800-word blog posts for the sake of content volume.
Don’t treat SEO and content like separate teams. It’s now one job: educational brand storytelling.
🚀 TL;DR: SEO Isn’t Dead — It’s AI-Powered Now
Your content still matters — but you need to:
Think like a teacher, not a keyword robot.
Structure like a strategist, not a blogger.
Engage like a human, not a bot.
And the brands that do this best? They won’t just show up on Google — they’ll live inside every AI assistant’s memory.
🧠 Final Thought: You’re Already Part of the Machine — Make It Work for You
The internet you help build every day — your reviews, your blog posts, your Reddit rants — is teaching the next generation of AI how to think, talk, and recommend.
And while that might sound overwhelming, it’s also empowering.
Because if you know how it works, you can show up where it matters:
In AI-generated suggestions
In curated answers
In the invisible layer of trust that shapes every digital experience
The question isn’t if your brand is being referenced by AI — it’s how well you’ve positioned it to be.
So yes, the robots are listening. Now’s your chance to make sure they say your name, and say it right.
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