OpenAI tells a reporter ChatGPT's search volume is about a fifth of Google's; SEO tool maker Ahrefs estimated about 12% in February

Concept illustration: in the upper right, a black interlocking-loop emblem sits beside large black lettering reading OPENAI, above a long counter with a beige top standing on a tiled floor. Along the counter's white front, from left to right, are a red door panel with a horizontal handle set against a faint pink diagonal patch, a laptop-like screen lettered CHATGPT, five white door panels each with a horizontal handle, and a laptop-like screen lettered GOOGLE with a blue, red, yellow and green letter G in front of the word.

Tech reporter Alex Kantrowitz relayed on X on November 2 that OpenAI says its internal data shows ChatGPT's search volume is already about a fifth of Google's. Until OpenAI says how it counts, the one-fifth cannot be set against Ahrefs' 12%. For now, anyone sizing how much search has moved from Google to ChatGPT has only OpenAI's own number.

Kantrowitz writes the tech newsletter and show Big Technology. The post quotes OpenAI as saying "ChatGPT search volume is already about a fifth of Google's", and OpenAI added that this share is growing fast (Kantrowitz, 2026-11-02). The post doesn't say how "search volume" is counted.

A third-party estimate came in lower. Patrick Stox of Ahrefs, which makes website traffic and keyword analysis tools, estimated on February 11 that, counting only topics people have traditionally searched on Google, ChatGPT's volume was about 12% of Google's. The same piece estimated that Google sends 190 times as much traffic to outside websites as ChatGPT does (Ahrefs, 2026-02-11). Ahrefs counted only traditional search topics, and OpenAI hasn't said how it counts. The two figures are also nine months apart, so whether the gap comes from definitions or from growth can't yet be told.

Google also says queries in its AI interface earn less. AI Mode is the mode in Google Search where AI answers the query directly. According to a summary by Latent Space, an AI industry roundup newsletter, Philipp Schindler, Google's chief business officer, said on Alphabet's October 29 earnings call that AI Mode queries are growing strongly, but that lower ad revenue per AI Mode query weighed on search revenue. Schindler also said on the same call that currency effects were the biggest single reason search growth slowed from the second quarter (Latent Space, 2026-10-31).

Not proven yet: the one-fifth is OpenAI's own figure, and the post doesn't say how it is counted How we checked →

Next to watch: whether the follow-up story Kantrowitz says he will run in Big Technology explains how OpenAI counts search volume, and whether Alphabet's next earnings call early next year breaks out how AI Mode is monetized.

Source and checks

This item ran in the brief of Nov 3, 2026, alongside 4 other items. How we checked it, the quote checks and what was still missing that day are on that issue's How we checked page.

Cite this item

SecondSource (2026). "OpenAI tells a reporter ChatGPT's search volume is about a fifth of Google's; SEO tool maker Ahrefs estimated about 12% in February." https://secondsource.io/en/news/2026-11-03-3/. Accessed access date.