AI Conversion Intelligence: Why 2026 Will Reward Momentum

The December 2025 edition of MITechTV explored AI Conversion Intelligence as digital strategist Melih Oztalay, CEO of SmartFinds Marketing, joined host Mike Brennan. In an earlier segment, Oztalay explained how AI is reshaping visibility and why ranking is being replaced by being referenced. In this follow-up conversation, the focus shifts to what happens after a prospect finds you: how AI can accelerate decisions, increase lead volume, and compress the time from visitor to customer.

This second discussion on AI marketing is less about being discovered and more about what Oztalay calls AI conversion intelligence. It is about orchestrating AI tools that watch, learn, and respond to visitor behavior in real time, creating marketing momentum that rewards companies that move quickly and structurally into 2026.

Viewers can watch the complete segment on MITechTV on YouTube channel, part of an ongoing series exploring how AI is reshaping business, technology, and growth strategies.

From AI Visibility to AI Conversion Intelligence

In the earlier conversation, Oztalay and Brennan focused on the shift from traditional search engine optimization (SEO) to a blended model of SEO, answer engine optimization (AEO), and generative engine optimization (GEO). That discussion centered on making a website more referenceable by AI engines – ensuring that generative systems understand what a business does and can confidently recommend it.

In this follow-up, Oztalay starts with a simple assumption: the visibility work is beginning to pay off. Traffic is arriving from Google, referrals, social media, and now AI-generated recommendations. The question becomes what happens next.

“These website visitors are coming,” he explained. “The question is how do we, number one, increase the number of leads or sales we get, and number two, how do we reduce the time it takes for that website visitor to become a lead or a sale?”

That is where AI conversion intelligence comes in. Rather than treating traffic as a static metric, it uses AI to watch each visitor’s behavior, adapt to their needs, and guide them through a dynamic journey funnel.

The Four Pillars of AI Conversion Intelligence Customer Journey Mapping

To make this work, Oztalay outlined four pillars of an AI-enhanced journey funnel. Each is familiar in concept but significantly more powerful when coordinated and driven by AI.

(1) AI journey tracking: Tools that monitor how each visitor moves through the site, which pages they view, how they interact, and how often they return. From this, AI can infer where someone is in the buying journey and adjust messaging and offers accordingly.
(2) AI chatbot engagement: Many visitors are not ready to talk to a human but are willing to ask questions and gather information. An AI chatbot provides a low-friction way to interact, get answers, and begin the process of qualification without forcing a sales call too early.
(3) Heatmaps and interaction analytics: Visual tools that show where people click, scroll, pause, and ignore. Heatmaps reveal whether layouts, calls to action, and design elements are actually working the way marketers think they are.
(4) A/B and ABC testing: Structured experiments where multiple versions of a homepage or landing page are tested. Each version must be distinctly different so that real differences in performance can be measured and optimized.

Oztalay emphasized that these are not separate tactics. Together, they form an AI-driven system that continually refines the journey funnel and shortens the path from visitor to lead.

“This is the game that we need to play in 2026,” he said. “You are trying to figure out how to get that website visitor to become a lead and to do so faster, and we are using AI tools to make that all happen.”

“The four pillars don’t work in isolation — AI conversion intelligence happens when they operate together, constantly learning and adjusting the journey in real time.”

— Melih Oztalay

AI Conversion Intelligence Real-World Proof: 198 percent lead growth from AI-enhanced CRO

To make the concept tangible, Oztalay shared a case study from a technology client. Over a two-year period from 2023 through 2025, his team used AI-driven CRO tools to overhaul the customer journey.

The results were significant. Comparing year-over-year data, they achieved a 198 percent increase in total leads generated through the website.

“I am being very specific,” he said. “The numbers did not actually bring it to 200 percent, but it got to 198 percent over that time frame. Why? Because we used A/B testing, we used heatmaps, we used the AI tool to identify the journey funnel, and we used active calls to action that were literally personalized based on where in the journey that particular website visitor was.”

This kind of improvement is not about more traffic. It is about working smarter with the traffic already coming in and letting AI optimize the path to conversion.

GEO and AI visibility: a 40 percent lift in AI activity

Oztalay’s second example returned briefly to the theme of AI visibility but framed it through measurable impact.

Working with a different B2B company, his team focused on improving generative engine optimization. They used schema markup, JSON scripts, and structured content across services pages to make sure AI engines could interpret what the company offered and when to recommend it.

That project, which ran for roughly six to seven months, produced a 40 percent increase in AI-related activity around the brand. The implication is clear: AI engines are paying attention to structured signals, and companies that feed them well are already seeing benefits.

Why CEOs underestimate the risk in 2026

Brennan then asked a question many executives are quietly asking: what are CEOs underestimating as they look ahead to 2026?

Oztalay answered by challenging one of the most common narratives in AI discussions – the idea that AI will simply “take jobs.” In his view, that framing misses the more immediate competitive reality.

“It is not so much that AI is taking away jobs as it is removing laggards,” he explained. “Companies that are still lagging behind the trend that is already out there are the ones at risk.”

— Melih Oztalay

In previous technology cycles, late adopters often had 12 months or more to watch, evaluate, and then act. That buffer has disappeared. According to Oztalay, the decision window has compressed to three to six months. Hesitation is no longer cautious; it is dangerous.

“You do not have time to lag behind in the marketplace,” he said. “You do not have time to lag behind your competitors. You need to jump on board. The biggest risk in 2026 is not making decisions fast enough. That is the biggest risk in 2026.”

Turning AI engines into strategy advisors

To help CEOs move from theory to action, Oztalay proposed a simple diagnostic exercise that uses AI itself as a strategic advisor.

First, he recommends going to a preferred GPT system and asking it not simply for “competitors” but for recommended companies that provide a specific product or service, ideally constrained to a particular region such as the United States. Once the list appears, leaders should check whether their own company is included.

If it is not, the next step is straightforward: ask the AI why it did not recommend the company, providing the website address and name. The response will usually be a list of reasons – gaps in content, lack of clarity, missing authority signals, or absent technical markup.

“You need to take that list of reasons and make it your to-do list,” Oztalay advised. “Then have your favorite GPT tell you how to work through that to-do list. Start from the top and work your way down.”

Schema, markup, and becoming referenceable

In many cases, he noted, there are two recurring themes in those AI-generated to-do lists. First, websites lack the appropriate markup language – the behind-the-scenes schema and JSON scripts that help AI engines understand what a business does and when to recommend it.

Second, the markup that does exist is inconsistent or only applied to a few primary pages.

Oztalay’s practical advice is to begin with the homepage: provide the URL to a GPT system, ask it to generate schema code and a JSON script, and then copy and paste that code into the page. From there, the same approach can be extended across key services pages and other high-value content.

“Schema code and markup language need to be on every page of your website,” he said. “That is a major to-do item for 2026 if you want to be referenceable. We are no longer just talking about rankings. We want to be referenced.”

This focus on structured content and AI discoverability is a core part of programs offered by firms like SmartFinds Marketing, which also shares AI and conversion insights via its presence at SmartFinds Marketing on LinkedIn.

Chatbots, AI workflows, and agents: building an AI-ready stack

Beyond visibility and markup, Oztalay highlighted three additional components of an AI-ready conversion stack for 2026.

AI chatbots that allow hesitant visitors to get answers without speaking to sales, but still move along the journey toward becoming a lead.
AI-enhanced lead response workflows that route, score, and follow up more quickly than manual processes.
AI agents that help build and manage these workflows, reducing manual effort and turning marketing operations into a more adaptive, responsive system.

He encouraged leaders to think in terms of infrastructure, not just individual tools. The goal is a coordinated AI environment where discovery, engagement, and follow-through are all enhanced by intelligent systems rather than stitched together piecemeal.

AI marketing momentum in 2026

As the segment wrapped up, Brennan asked how viewers could reach out for more guidance. Oztalay pointed them to the SmartFinds Marketing website, where the team is actively using AI chatbots and journey tracking, and to his personal LinkedIn profile, where he maintains an active presence and encourages business professionals to connect or tag him in posts.

Throughout the conversation, one theme remained constant: AI is not a future consideration. It is already reshaping how visitors discover, evaluate, and engage with companies. In that environment, AI conversion intelligence becomes a necessity rather than a luxury.

Companies that build speed, structure, and intelligence into their digital journeys now will experience the benefits in higher lead volume, faster sales cycles, and stronger competitive positions. Those who hesitate will find that the biggest risk in 2026 was not AI itself, but the decision to move too slowly once the opportunity became clear.

About SmartFinds Marketing

SmartFinds Marketing, led by CEO Melih Oztalay, brings more than three decades of experience helping companies navigate digital transformation. The agency specializes in AI marketing strategies, GEO search visibility, conversion rate optimization, content development, multimedia campaigns, and comprehensive B2B digital marketing programs. Based on a philosophy of continuous innovation, SmartFinds empowers businesses to build stronger customer journeys, increase revenue, and compete effectively in fast-changing markets. Learn more at SmartFindsMarketing.com.