OpenAI Estimates ChatGPT's Search Activity at 20% of Google

According to OpenAI, the volume of search queries in ChatGPT has reached approximately one-fifth of the number of Google queries. This was reported by Adam Fry, head of the consumer division of ChatGPT. However, 20% is not a share of the global search market, but a comparison of two metrics, the methodology of which is not fully disclosed.

Fry explained that these are questions that users would previously have asked a regular search engine. Now some of these queries are directed to ChatGPT, which searches for current information on the internet if necessary.

“ChatGPT’s volume of search-like queries is now roughly one-fifth the volume of queries of Google,” Fry stated. Translated: “The volume of search-like queries in ChatGPT is now approximately one-fifth of the volume of Google queries.”

According to his explanation, turning to the internet to answer a question is considered a search interaction. However, the company has not disclosed the absolute number of such queries, the measurement period, or the specific Google data used for comparison. It is currently not possible to verify the metric independently.

Fry reported that over the past two months, the weekly audience of ChatGPT has increased from 1 billion to 1.2 billion people. About 250 million people use voice functions, including dictation and conversation with the assistant, weekly. Additionally, users create approximately 1.5 billion images per week.

These metrics reflect different actions and cannot be combined. The number of active users is also not equal to the number of search queries: one person can ask multiple questions in a single session.

According to Statcounter, in October, Google accounted for about 91% of transitions from traditional search engines. However, this statistic does not account for searches within ChatGPT in a comparable way. Therefore, it is not possible to call the AI assistant the second largest search engine in the world based on OpenAI's assessment.

Google previously reported more than 5 trillion search queries per year. But multiplying this figure by 20% only provides a rough estimate: the companies have not confirmed that they use the same definition of search.

The growth of ChatGPT's audience demonstrates an expansion of ways to obtain information. To assess its real competition with Google, comparable data on queries, website visits, and commercial use of search are needed.