A recent look at US desktop browsing shows that ChatGPT directs people to external websites 5.2% of the time, compared to 31.1% of Google searches. The paper, conducted by researchers at Bocconi University, examines Comscore clickstream data to gain an understanding of how the wider reach of ChatGPT has influenced general searches.
What the Data Shows
When people click on ChatGPT, they often visit a different set of websites than Google’s specified visitors. These are reference and information sites, tools, SaaS forums, and educational or developer sites. Ad-supported sites generate 27.6 points less referral traffic.
Google’s referral traffic tends to point to popular sites like YouTube, Reddit, and Wikipedia, while ChatGPT directs visitors more to smaller, niche sites. The authors observed that ChatGPT tends to send people to non-profit, subscription, and freemium platforms, away from ad-supported sites that rely heavily on referrals.
The authors note how much they should interpret these data, saying:
Our claim is intentionally less than a social claim: we measure change in the distribution of visual traffic, not consumer surplus, publisher revenue, or long-term content production.
The researchers treated each conversation as a single exchange and checked whether it led to a clean exit click. ChatGPT’s monthly referral rate increased from about 2.5% to about 6.5% during the measurement period, although it is still below Google’s average per query.
Made Wider Access to Search
OpenAI gradually expanded access to ChatGPT Search: paid subscribers in October 2024; free users in December of that year; and anonymous users in February 2025.
Broader reach reduced weekly average search queries by 9.4%, with the reduction reaching 17% after 20 weeks. Comparing the two groups already using ChatGPT, the drop was 4.9% on average, rising to 8.2% after 20 weeks.
The biggest decline was in information content searches, where academic research referrals fell by 32.8% and references by 26.5%. Active search and entertainment haven’t changed much.
Why This Matters
ChatGPT sends fewer referrals than Google and directs people to different parts of the web. The most affected categories are educational, reference, developer, and news, although reference and information sites are among the most common browsing conditions for ChatGPT.
SEJ covered Pew Research Center data showing that users click on links less often when an AI summary is present, with more citations from a few major platforms. Bocconi’s paper expands on this, including estimates of how broad access has influenced the use of standard search.
Looking Forward
The authors question whether content creators will continue to publish at the same rate if AI search uses their work but generates fewer visits. To answer this, we need more than just US desktop data. We need mobile, international, and revenue records to better understand the potential impact.
Featured Image: Jess Rodriguez/Shutterstock
