OpenAI says ChatGPT now handles a fifth of Google's searches
OpenAI says ChatGPT search volume now equals 20 percent of Google's, according to The Verge, as the company leans further into ads.
The facts
- According to The Verge, OpenAI says the volume of search queries run through ChatGPT now equals 20 percent of the volume run through Google.
- ChatGPT product lead Adam Fry announced it at a press event on Monday. OpenAI counts a search as a query that triggers a web search, not tasks like defining a term or a simple how-to. He did not say where the Google figure came from.
- OpenAI sees ads as a route to profitability, with an IPO potentially slated for early next year. Fry said ads have not hurt the product or its usage.
- OpenAI announced last month that ChatGPT would start showing images of sponsored products and services, not just a name, logo and link.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
This is OpenAI's own number, with its own definition of a search, and the Google comparison is unsourced. Treat it as a claim, not a measurement. Still, the direction is clear: more people now start with a chatbot, not a list of links. If answers replace clicks, the sites that depend on search traffic lose, and the company that owns the answer box gets to sell the ads around it.
For traders
Don't trade a company's self-reported usage stat. Watch for independent search-share data, and for whether the IPO timing OpenAI is floating firms up or fades. If you hold anything exposed to search ad revenue, look at what the filings say, not the press event.
For builders
If you run a content or e-commerce site, plan for fewer referrals from search and more visibility inside AI answers. OpenAI's push towards visual, interactive replies, which it calls "Intelligent UI", suggests that product listings and data may need to be machine-readable to show up well.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from The Verge's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.