OpenAI: ChatGPT search volume is now about one-fifth of Google’s
OpenAI's Adam Fry says ChatGPT's search-like query volume is roughly 20% of Google's, but the Google baseline is unspecified and referral data still shows ChatGPT far behind. Treat it as a growth signal, not proof of replacement.
- OpenAI says ChatGPT handles about one-fifth of Google's search query volume, counting every question that triggers a web search.
- The Google baseline, period and regions were not disclosed, and referral traffic from ChatGPT remains tiny by comparison.
- Report query volume and referral traffic as separate metrics, and keep tracking ChatGPT referrals monthly.
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OpenAI says the volume of search-like queries in ChatGPT is now roughly one-fifth of Google’s. ChatGPT consumer product lead Adam Fry made the claim on November 3, 2026, as reported by The Verge. It follows the trend we covered in OpenAI’s push to index more new pages.
What exactly did OpenAI say about ChatGPT search volume?
Fry said ChatGPT’s volume of search-like queries is about 20% of Google’s, in an interview with Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology, according to Search Engine Journal. OpenAI counts a search whenever a question sends ChatGPT to the web. Fry also said weekly active users rose from 1 billion to 1.2 billion in two months, as quoted by Search Engine Roundtable.
Fry did not say which Google figure he used, the time period or the regions covered.
Is ChatGPT really catching up to Google?
Not in the sense that matters most for site owners. The 20% figure is OpenAI’s own, based on its own definition, and the Google baseline is unknown. Search Engine Journal notes that Ahrefs estimated ChatGPT at about 12% of Google’s volume in February using a different method, so the two numbers are not directly comparable.
Traffic tells a different story. Per Ahrefs’ November 3 update, cited by Search Engine Journal, Google made up 24.74% of tracked traffic across 118,671 sites in October versus 0.36% for ChatGPT. A query answered inside ChatGPT does not necessarily send a visit to your site.
Neither Fry’s figure nor Google’s reported query growth shows whether ChatGPT is replacing Google searches. They may simply be additive.
How should you report ChatGPT search in your channel plan?
Keep two metrics apart: query volume (how often people ask) and referral traffic (how often they visit you). Mixing them will overstate ChatGPT’s value as a traffic channel or understate it as a visibility channel.
- Label every ChatGPT number with its definition and source when you report it to clients or management.
- Track ChatGPT referrals monthly in your analytics and compare against an outside tracker such as Ahrefs’ referral data.
- Check whether your key pages are being cited in ChatGPT answers for people, places, finance and health queries, the categories Fry said trigger web searches.
- Do not shift budget away from Google on this number alone. Wait for OpenAI to disclose its baseline.
- Watch ads: The Verge reports OpenAI will show images of sponsored products in ChatGPT, which could change how organic and paid visibility compete. See also our AI Search & GEO coverage for ongoing changes.