25% to 62% Share of Voice growth in 3 months for the KIWI flight search engine

In August 2025, while the SEO industry was debating the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence, we decided to take the initiative. By applying the Clean Lab methodology to the isolated Bulgarian market, we proved that building AI-focused authority is the most powerful modern booster for traditional rankings.

🚀 Key Results

• AI Share of Voice Growth: From 25% to 62%.

• Brand Score Increase: A 21 p.p. jump (from 38% to 59%) in just 3 months.

• Organic SEO Effect: Keywords with monthly volumes up to 33,100 moved from N/A straight into the TOP 5 (with zero on-site changes!).

• Clickability Edge: Securing a share in clickable links within AI interfaces (while competitors remained as plain text only).

Debunking the “AI kills SEO” Myth: The AI Authority Link Building strategy is based on the premise that modern SEO and LLMs feed on the same thing: authority. We tested the hypothesis that building visibility in AI simultaneously delivers the strongest ranking signals to Google’s algorithm.

“Clean Lab” Methodology (Market Isolation):To prove this synergy, we selected Bulgaria as a market free from any other SEO or marketing activities for Kiwi.com. This allowed for precise, scientific isolation of our method’s impact as the sole variable.

Process Parameterization (Data-Driven): The campaign was a rigorous, 3-month research process consisting of:

• 4 high-quality premium publications per month in key information hubs.

• 15 contextual diversifying links per month, building a semantic background for LLMs.

• Analysis of 10 strategic product keywords (volumes ranging from 140 to 33,100/mo), selected in cooperation with Kiwi.com to validate effectiveness on high-stakes business phrases.

Multi-LLM Adaptability: We accounted for architectural differences between models. We leveraged Perplexity’s high reactivity to new data while addressing the need for stable authority required by Claude and Copilot, creating a cohesive brand visibility ecosystem.

Competitive Intelligence: Prior to launching the campaign, we conducted a detailed audit of Kiwi.com’s competitors’ presence in generative search results within the Bulgarian market. We analyzed which data sources AI models cited for flight-related queries and the context in which they placed our rivals.

• Audit Finding: Competitors appeared mostly as passive text mentions.

• Strategic Response: We used this insight within our AI Authority Link Building framework not just to appear alongside them, but to dominate the narrative. Most importantly, we forced AI models to generate clickable links exclusively for Kiwi.com, securing a direct conversion advantage right at the AI response stage.

Agile Mindset: We adopted an Agile strategy: every three weeks, we met with the Kiwi.com team to cross-reference our AI model findings with their internal data on search trends in the Bulgarian market.

Implementation (Operational Process):The campaign ran from August to October 2025 and was executed as a process of continuous optimization and insight extraction.

Creativity & Innovation (The Clickable Edge): Our innovation did not rely on theoretical assumptions, but on testing data presentation formats to gain a competitive edge.

• Testing Header Structure: We broke through the barrier of “passive presence” in AI with The Clickable Edge innovation. While competitors were merely mentioned as plain text by LLMs, we reverse-engineered the way Google AIO and Copilot interpret data structures. Through specific semantic formatting and strategic placement of non-clickable URLs within premium publications, we forced the algorithms to generate interactive, clickable tiles. As a result, Kiwi.com became the only brand in the roundups offering a direct path to conversion, turning an informational AI response into a real sales channel.

• Business Outcome: Thanks to these tests, Kiwi.com was the sole entity in many generative roundups to feature a direct link to its website, while competing brands were only mentioned in text. This approach allowed us to translate “AI visibility” into actual traffic and business value.

Data Integrity: We deliberately opted against full data collection automation in favor of rigorous, manual verification. Each of the 10 key phrases was checked in incognito mode, across different devices, and at varying times. We then cross-referenced these results with data from the ChatBeat tool, allowing us to eliminate AI personalization bias and obtain the most objective Share of Voice picture possible.

The three-month campaign in the Bulgarian market (August – October 2025) provided undeniable proof of the synergy between AI and SEO. Thanks to the market isolation (“Clean Lab”), we are certain that the following results are a direct consequence of the implemented strategy:

• AI Authority Building (ChatBeat): The Brand Score metric, which measures the AI models’ understanding of and trust in the Kiwi.com brand, surged from 38% to 59% (+21 p.p.). Crucially, we continued to monitor this metric after the campaign concluded, by late November, the Brand Score held steady at 59%, proving the brand’s permanent “anchoring” within LLM knowledge bases.

• Share of Voice (SoV) Dominance: The growth of Kiwi.com’s visibility in generative (LLM) responses was spectacular, climbing from a 25% baseline to 62%. This means the brand became the primary point of reference for AI regarding air travel in Bulgaria.

Synergy with Traditional SEO (SerpRobot): Despite the total absence of any on-site optimization, the AI Authority Link Building method acted as a powerful catalyst for traditional rankings. 10 strategic keywords with high monthly search volumes (up to 33,100/mo) recorded the following leaps:

Product-related phrases (e.g., “cheapest flight tickets” – in Bulgarian) moved from outside the trackable index (N/A) straight into the tight TOP 5 and TOP 10.

The most groundbreaking result of the campaign was proof of a two-way synergy: building AI-targeted authority became the strongest ranking signal for traditional Google. Without any technical on-site changes to the website, our LLM-focused off-site activities pushed key phrases with monthly volumes of up to 33,000 from non-existence straight into the TOP 5. This result, combined with maintaining a stable Brand Score (59%) long after the campaign ended, sets a new benchmark for efficiency in the era of AI-First Search.

• Conversion Advantage (Clickability): Through header structure testing, we achieved a unique result: within Google AIO and Copilot models, Kiwi.com was the only brand in the roundups to be presented in the form of a clickable link.