Observed Signal · Oct 22, 2026 · Research Report · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
ChatGPT sends less than 1% of Google's traffic
According to an analysis by Marie Haynes of 100 websites over 12 months, ChatGPT referral traffic accounted for only 0.62% of Google organic search sessions, and combined LLM referrals (including ChatGPT) reached 0.73% of Google organic traffic. The study, covering 145 million sessions, found that ChatGPT visitors converted at a higher rate (13.8%) compared to Google organic visitors (3.02%), but Google still drove 27 times more conversions overall. ChatGPT referral growth stalled after August 2025. The report underscores that while AI search is growing, Google remains the dominant source of referral traffic, and marketers should focus on Google while monitoring AI search trends.
Provides empirical data on the current impact of AI chatbots on referral traffic, showing that Google still dominates, which is crucial for marketers planning AI search strategies.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- ChatGPT sent 0.62% as many sessions as Google organic search across 100 websites.
- Combined LLM referrals (including ChatGPT) accounted for 0.73% of Google organic traffic.
- Study covered 12 months of GA4 data and more than 145 million sessions.
- ChatGPT visitors converted at 13.8% versus 3.02% for Google organic visitors.
- Google organic drove 27 times more conversions than all LLMs combined.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“Google organic search is the benchmark for comparison in the study.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
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AI Chatbots Beat Google in Referrals
A developer tracked referral sources to a new web tool for 30 days and found AI chatbots — led by ChatGPT — became the largest single referrer. Using a 30-day snapshot dated 2026-04-25, chatgpt.com accounted for 32% of referrals versus google.com at 21% and bing.com at 18%. The author built markdown.free (a privacy-focused Markdown → PDF/DOCX/EPUB converter) and performed standard SEO, but did not optimise for chatbots; yet ChatGPT began recommending the tool organically. Aggregate metrics reported: AI referrals (ChatGPT + Perplexity + others) = 35%, search engines = 58%, upload-start rate = 87%, and conversion (uploads → success) = 86%. The post raises questions about whether AI chatbots represent a durable new discovery channel distinct from traditional search.
Google and ChatGPT Traffic Gap: Search Still Dominates
A June 2026 analysis of 10,171 websites by OneLittleWeb reveals that search engines still dominate web traffic, with 162.19 billion visits, compared to 8.26 billion for AI chatbots. Google alone accounted for 98.19 billion visits, nearly 12 times the traffic of all chatbots combined. ChatGPT leads the chatbot category with 5.32 billion visits, followed by Gemini and Claude. However, the study only measures browser-based traffic, excluding app usage, where AI assistants are heavily used. Google's AI Overviews, which blend AI-generated answers into search results, complicate the distinction between search and chat. The data suggests search remains the primary starting point for information, but the gap may narrow as AI integration grows.
Google Leads AI Discovery; ChatGPT Dominates Referrals
Previsible released the third edition of its AI Traffic Study, analysing 6.77 million LLM-driven sessions across 166 websites from November 2024 to May 2026. The study finds Google’s AI surfaces (AI Overviews and AI Mode) generate a larger volume of AI-influenced discovery than standalone LLM assistants. Among standalone assistants, ChatGPT accounted for the vast majority (92.4%) of measurable referral traffic and saw sessions grow from 47,606 in November 2024 to 610,910 in May 2026. Total monthly standalone LLM-referred sessions grew 9.9x over the study period to 644,478 in May 2026. The report highlights industry and page-type differences in LLM referral behaviour, significant growth in e-commerce LLM traffic, and recommends that marketers prioritise Google AI surfaces and measure AI traffic by page type.
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