--- title: "OpenAI Says ChatGPT Now Handles a Fifth of Google's Search Volume" description: "OpenAI says ChatGPT now handles about a fifth of Google's search volume. What it counts, what it left out, and what you should check in your own traffic." url: https://publishmyblog.com/ai/chatgpt-search-volume-vs-google/ section: "AI" author: "Saeed Shahriar" published: 2026-11-04T15:49:00.000Z updated: 2026-11-04T15:49:00.000Z --- # OpenAI Says ChatGPT Now Handles a Fifth of Google's Search Volume Ahrefs data shows ChatGPT still sends websites less than half a percent of tracked traffic. OpenAI says ChatGPT now handles **about one-fifth of Google's search volume**, a figure Adam Fry, ChatGPT's consumer product lead, gave at an OpenAI dinner in New York on Monday. Fry also told Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz, who ran the interview, that weekly users grew from 1 billion to 1.2 billion in just the last two months. So is your Google traffic about to shrink by a fifth? I doubt it. **The way OpenAI counts** is why. ## What OpenAI counts as a search Fry's rule, [as Search Engine Journal reports](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-search-volume-is-about-5x-chatgpts-openai-says/595817/): "Every time you ask a question and go search the web, that's a search." A chat that needs no web lookup doesn't count. Defining a term or a simple how-to is **left out of the 20%**, [The Verge reports](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1025482/openai-says-chatgpt-is-catching-up-to-google-in-search). What does count? Fry named the kinds of questions you'd once have typed into a search engine: - People, places and things that need up-to-date information. - Finance questions. - Health questions, where you want the answer current and factual. ## What OpenAI didn't say But Fry didn't say **which Google number he compared against**, over what time period, or which countries it covers, a gap The Verge and Search Engine Journal both point out. So you can't check the 20% yet. Ahrefs put ChatGPT at about 12% of Google's search volume in February, but it sorted prompts by type instead of counting web searches, so you can't set the two side by side. ## Searches aren't visits to your site Ahrefs also tracks referrals across 118,671 sites that use its free Web Analytics tool. In its October data, **the gap is huge**: - Google sent about 25% of tracked traffic. - ChatGPT sent less than half a percent. So people may ask ChatGPT a lot, but **ChatGPT still sends those sites a tiny share of visits**. My guess is that most of its searches end in an answer, with no click to anyone's site. Bigger than Bing, then? Glenn Gabe asked on X. Kantrowitz's reply, [via Search Engine Roundtable](https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-20-percent-google-42451.html): **Bing has 5% search share**. Meanwhile, Sundar Pichai said in Alphabet's third-quarter release that Google's query growth rate is the highest it's been in five years, so Google's own searches are still growing. ## Ads come with the growth Fry told reporters ChatGPT's ads haven't caused a lasting backlash or hurt usage, and that "most people do not seem to mind ads in the product." That said, The Verge ties the ads to OpenAI's path to profit: - Last month it said ChatGPT ads would show images of sponsored products, not just a name, logo and link. - It may go public as soon as early next year. Buying ads there? A study found [ChatGPT ad visits earn far less than Google Search ones](https://publishmyblog.com/marketing/chatgpt-ads-revenue-per-visit/). Then there's Google, which keeps [expanding ads in AI Mode](https://publishmyblog.com/seo/google-expands-ai-mode-ads/), so I'd expect the questions your customers ask in either place to turn into ad space you pay for. ## Why it matters If you report on search, keep your two numbers apart: **searches in ChatGPT, and visits ChatGPT sends your site**. Fry's figure is only the first. Three checks for your site: 1. In GA4, compare the visits ChatGPT sends your site with your Google organic trend. 2. Ask ChatGPT what your customers ask, typed the way they'd type it, and see whether it cites your pages or a competitor's. 3. Don't block OpenAI's crawlers. My read: it's a big claim with no denominator. **I'd treat it as a pitch to advertisers** for now. Still, your customers are asking ChatGPT. Is your site one of the answers? ## Common Questions **How much search volume does ChatGPT have compared with Google?** About one-fifth, according to Adam Fry, who leads ChatGPT's consumer product at OpenAI. He counts every question that sends ChatGPT to the web as a search, and he didn't say which Google figure he used. **Does ChatGPT send as much traffic to websites as Google?** No. Across 118,671 sites in Ahrefs' Web Analytics data for October, Google sent about 25% of tracked traffic and ChatGPT sent less than half a percent. **What does OpenAI count as a ChatGPT search?** Any question that makes ChatGPT search the web, the kind of questions you'd once have typed into a search engine. A ChatGPT answer that needs no web lookup, such as defining a term or a simple how-to, isn't counted, The Verge reports. ## Sources - [OpenAI says ChatGPT is catching up to Google in search](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1025482/openai-says-chatgpt-is-catching-up-to-google-in-search), The Verge - [Google's Search Volume Is About 5x ChatGPT's, OpenAI Says](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-search-volume-is-about-5x-chatgpts-openai-says/595817/), Search Engine Journal - [OpenAI Says ChatGPT Is At 20% Of Google Search Volume](https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-20-percent-google-42451.html), Search Engine Roundtable