Featured as a “recommended company” in Google’s AI-generated answers. Average time on page from AI traffic increased by approximately 24% (AI search optimization case study)

In Digital Shift Wave Co., Ltd.’s AI search optimization initiative, we confirmed a change in which visitors arriving via AI spent more time on the site. Looking at sitewide data before and after the article was published, the average engagement time per visit increased by about 24%, from 32.5 seconds to 40.4 seconds.

In addition, in response to a question looking for a vendor, “Recommend DX/AX consulting companies,” Google’s AI answer introduced the company as a recommended provider. Along with the company name and strengths, the article produced by Queue was also displayed as a source for the answer.

This article introduces the results confirmed from two angles: getting the company introduced by AI, and site engagement after the visit.

 

 

The goal was to create touchpoints with people looking for recommended companies

When someone asks for “recommended DX/AX consulting companies,” they have not yet decided on a vendor and are at the stage of comparing candidates. Having the company name appear in the answer to that question creates a touchpoint for people who did not yet know Digital Shift Wave Co., Ltd., helping them recognize it as a potential company to consult.

If the answer also communicates the company’s areas of strength, readers can assess whether it fits their own challenges. The goal in this initiative was to help people looking for a vendor understand the company’s characteristics and move on to comparison and consideration.

The aim was to have people who search for “which companies are recommended” without specifying a company name discover the company as a candidate. In this initiative, the goal was to be introduced by AI at the stage when people are comparing DX/AX support companies.

To achieve this, we created an article that organized each company’s characteristics and strengths, as well as the types of challenges each is suited to address. It was published in DX Magazine on September 20, 2026, with content designed to communicate to both readers and AI why each company may be worth choosing.

For people comparing support companies, there is a difference between learning what each company does and determining which vendor is the right fit. In addition to “what the company does,” “what it is good at” and “what types of challenges it is suited for” become decision-making factors when choosing a company to consult.

For that reason, this article organized each company’s characteristics and strengths together with the challenges they address. The structure allows readers to understand the differences between companies and compare them against the support their own organization needs. It was also designed so that, when AI refers to it as a source for an answer, the relationship between each company name and its characteristics is clear.

Result 1: The company name and strengths were introduced as a recommended provider

On October 4, 2026, we created a state in which Digital Shift Wave was recommended in “AI Overview,” the AI-generated summary answer displayed in Google search results. In addition to the company name, the answer introduced its strength in staying close to frontline teams and providing hands-on support from pilot implementation through internal adoption.

The key point in this case is that AI guided users by saying, in effect, “This company is a candidate” in response to a question looking for a vendor. The article we produced was also displayed as a source, confirming visibility that can create a touchpoint with people comparing and considering companies.

This placement confirmed two things. First, Digital Shift Wave was introduced as a candidate vendor. Second, the article produced by Queue Corporation was displayed as a source for that answer.

Along with the company name, the answer also introduced its strength in staying close to frontline teams and providing hands-on support from pilot implementation through internal adoption. For people looking for a vendor, the placement made it possible to understand both the candidate company and the support it specializes in within the same answer.

 

Result 2: Visitors arriving via AI spent more time on the site

After the article was published, visitors arriving via AI spent more time browsing the site. Comparing data from the access analytics tool “GA4” before and after publication, visits from AI showed an average engagement time per visit increase of about 24%, from 32.5 seconds to 40.4 seconds.

This means that, for each visit from AI, the time spent viewing the site increased by about eight seconds on average. In addition to being introduced by AI, we also observed a positive change in behavior after visitors arrived on the site.

Average engagement time before and after article publication

Before publication: September 13–19, 2026 / After publication: September 20–24. Values are per visit across the entire site.

Engagement time was about 27% longer than traffic from standard search result links

During the same period after publication, the average engagement time from AI traffic was 40.4 seconds, while traffic from search result links was 31.9 seconds.

We examined engagement time through two comparisons. In the before-and-after comparison, the average engagement time from AI traffic increased from 32.5 seconds to 40.4 seconds. Meanwhile, in the comparison by traffic source during the same post-publication period, AI traffic recorded 40.4 seconds versus 31.9 seconds for traffic from search result links. This shows that visitors from AI spent about 27% more time viewing the site.

We confirmed both AI recommendation visibility and changes after the visit

In this case study, in addition to having the company name and strengths introduced within an AI answer, we confirmed a change in which visitors arriving via AI spent more time on the site.

When considering AI search optimization for your own company, it is important to check which questions your company was introduced for, how its strengths were described, and how visitors viewed the site after arriving.

In this initiative, we confirmed changes from two perspectives: being introduced within the answer, and engagement time after the visit. We will continue to track whether this leads to inquiries and business discussions.