OpenAI says ChatGPT search volume reaches 20% of Google's, but Google search growth hits five-year high

Beating AI News Flash: Adam Fry, head of consumer products at OpenAI, revealed that ChatGPT's search-type query volume has reached about 20% of Google's, and weekly active users have grown from 1 billion to 1.2 billion in two months. However, this ratio comes from OpenAI's own estimates, and the specific query counts and comparison methodology have not been disclosed.

Google's search business, however, has not slowed down. In the third quarter of 2026, Google's search query volume year-over-year growth hit a five-year high, and search advertising revenue grew 12% to approximately $63.3 billion.

Similarweb data shows that among users who visited ChatGPT.com in September 2026, 93.7% also visited Google.com. Most people, even after starting to use ChatGPT, still cannot do without Google.