OpenAI reports ChatGPT search volume reaches 20 percent of Google levels
OpenAI officials stated on Monday that search query volume on ChatGPT now accounts for one-fifth of the total queries processed by Google.
OpenAI revealed that ChatGPT is processing a volume of web search queries equivalent to 20 percent of Google's search traffic. Adam Fry, the company's consumer product lead, disclosed the figure during a press event on Monday, though he did not provide the specific metrics used to calculate Google’s search volume for the comparison.
OpenAI clarifies that these figures specifically account for user inputs that trigger an external web search. This excludes routine conversational tasks such as requesting definitions or general instructional explanations, which the platform handles internally via its large language model.
While this data suggests an increase in ChatGPT's utility as a search tool, Google continues to maintain a significant lead in the global search engine market. The disclosure highlights the ongoing competition between traditional search architecture and generative AI-based information retrieval systems.