Author Reports 3x Higher Spend from ChatGPT Referrals for New Book

Marcelo Calbucci, a seasoned entrepreneur and author of "The PRFAQ Framework," recently shared a notable observation regarding customer acquisition channels for his book. Calbucci stated on social media that referrals originating from ChatGPT are demonstrating significantly higher purchasing power compared to those from Google.

"ChatGPT referrals spend three times as much as Google referrals on my book's website," Marcelo Calbucci announced in his tweet.

Calbucci's book, "The PRFAQ Framework," which launched in January 2025, details Amazon's innovation process and aims to help founders, product managers, and executives refine strategic decisions. His background includes leadership roles at Microsoft and Amazon, and he is a recognized figure in the tech startup community. The book's target audience is professionals seeking to enhance their product strategy and innovation capabilities.

This finding contrasts with broader industry studies on AI referral traffic. A comprehensive October 2025 analysis by Kaiser & Schulze across 973 e-commerce sites, totaling $20 billion in revenue, indicated that ChatGPT referrals generally convert worse than organic search, with Google outperforming ChatGPT by approximately 13% in conversion rates for e-commerce. This study also highlighted that ChatGPT traffic constitutes a mere 0.2% of total sessions, significantly smaller than Google organic traffic.

However, other reports suggest a more nuanced picture. A case study by Seer Interactive found that for one client, ChatGPT referrals converted at a much higher rate (15.9%) compared to Google Organic (1.8%), attributing this to stronger user intent after engaging with an LLM. Anecdotal evidence from various industries, including law firms and SaaS, also points to higher conversion rates for AI-driven traffic on high-intent topics.

The discrepancy suggests that the effectiveness of AI referrals may vary significantly depending on the product's nature and the user's intent within the AI interaction. For niche, high-value professional development content like Calbucci's book, users engaging with ChatGPT might be further along in their research or decision-making process, leading to a more qualified and higher-spending audience. As AI tools continue to evolve, understanding these channel-specific behaviors will be crucial for digital marketing strategies.