SEO | GOOGLE VS CHATGPT | AI | GOOGLE SEARCH ChatGPT Vs. Google At Every Stage Of The User Journey
- googleadwordshero
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Article by Kevin Indig
New Similarweb data shows the insane growth of ChatGPT and how different user behavior impacts downstream metrics.
More data shows ChatGPT isn’t taking market share away from Google.
Instead, it’s expanding the range of use cases and blurring the line between searching for information and performing tasks.
I looked at Similarweb data to understand how this affects four different stages of the user journey across Google and ChatGPT:
Usage.
Behavior.
Outbound clicks.
Converting.
What I found is that ChatGPT adoption is, essentially, a 400,000-pound locomotive barreling down the tracks with no intention of stopping anytime soon.
User conversations within ChatGPT are rich in context, which leads to higher conversion rates when intent shifts from information seeking or generating to buying.
Lastly, and also most notably for SEOs and growth marketers, ChatGPT is sending a lot more users out to the web.
Of course, all of these stats are still small in comparison to Google.
However, no effort from Google has been able to slow the momentum of ChatGPT’s runaway train. About the data I used in this analysis:
Data source: Similarweb (shoutout to Sam Sheridan).
Time period examined: July 2024 – June 2025 (last 12 months) vs. July 2023 – June 2024 (previous 12 months).
I also examined U.S. vs. UK user behavior.
Visits: ChatGPT Is Growing At Rapid Pace
People are rushing to ChatGPT.
Over the last 12 months in the U.S., ChatGPT visits grew from 3.5 to 6.8 billion visits (+94%).
In the UK, it was even faster: 131% YoY, from 868 million to 2 billion.
Over the same time span, Google growth stagnated. Here’s what the data showed:
U.S. stagnation: -0.85% (196 vs. 194 billion).
UK stagnation: -0.22% (35.56 vs. 35.49 billion).
To put it into perspective: Google had almost 200 billion visits in the U.S. over the last 12 months, compared to ChatGPT’s 6.8 billion.
So, ChatGPT has a mere 3.4% of Google’s total visits.
However, if growth rates hold steady, in theory, ChatGPT could hit Google’s volume in the next five years.
My hypothesis: It’s almost guaranteed that ChatGPT won’t hit Google’s visit volume because there are too many moving parts (energy/chip limitations, training data, quality improvements, regulation, etc.).
But consider that Google has declined by -0.85% (~2 billion visits) year-over-year, and you can see where this is going.
Visits can only tell you so much.
Recent data from Semrush and Profound suggests that one-third to two-thirds of user intent when interacting with AI chatbots is generative, meaning users use ChatGPT to do and less to search [1, 2].
Leaked chats from ChatGPT and other AI chatbots confirm the aggregate data.
So, even when we compare visits to ChatGPT vs. Google, they’re not leading to the same outcome.
But, against that argument, I will say that Google morphs more into a mirror of ChatGPT with AI Mode – and every generative intent has a high chance of including information along the conversation journey that is sourced to other sites or creators.
The conversational nature of AI chatbots means intent is fluid and can change from one prompt to the next.
Along the way, it’s likely users come across information in their conversations that would’ve been a classic Google Search for products or solutions.
At the end of the day, ChatGPT is continuing its adoption as the fastest-growing product on earth to date.
What does that mean for you?
Stay the course.
Keep tracking referral traffic, conversions, and topic visibility on Google + ChatGPT.
Optimize for visibility with a strong focus on classic SEO.
Keep an ear to the ground and learn as much as you can. Things are evolving fast, and clarity will come with time.
