OpenAI Says ChatGPT Handles One-Fifth of Google's Search Volume

ChatGPT processes roughly one-fifth as many search-like queries as Google, according to Adam Fry, OpenAI's consumer product lead for ChatGPT. Fry shared the figure in an open discussion with Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology at a Monday evening dinner in New York hosted by OpenAI. Big Technology published the transcript on Tuesday.

How does OpenAI count a search?

Kantrowitz asked Fry whether a full conversation counts as one search or whether each web-dependent question counts separately. Fry answered directly:

"Every time you ask a question and go search the web, that's a search."

That definition matters. OpenAI does not count writing or coding prompts, which is how most people first used ChatGPT. Fry said that over the past year users brought questions about people, places and things that need up-to-date information, plus finance and health queries, where ChatGPT performs a web search. He described the category as anything users would have taken to a traditional search engine.

The claim carries gaps. Fry did not reveal which Google figure the ratio references, how long the comparison window runs, or which regions it covers. He was also asked whether one-fifth of Google's size makes ChatGPT several times larger than Bing. The published interview does not answer that question. Takeaway: the ratio is a stated fact without a verifiable baseline.

What does outside data show?

Ahrefs estimated in February that ChatGPT's search volume was around 12 percent of Google's, using a different definition of search than OpenAI's. Ahrefs started from 2.5 billion daily ChatGPT prompts in July 2025, a figure from a Harvard University and OpenAI study, and judged that roughly 65 percent were queries users would previously have run on Google. It then compared that volume against the more than 5 trillion searches per year Google announced in March 2025. The Ahrefs author noted that 65 percent exceeded the share the researchers themselves classified as search, and that the method sorts prompts by request type while Fry's method counts actual web searches.

Ahrefs also tracks referral traffic across sites using its free Web Analytics tool. In October, across 118,671 sites, Google accounted for 24.74 percent of tracked traffic and ChatGPT for 0.36 percent, according to the tracker's November 3 update. That is a gap of nearly 69 to 1 in referral share. Takeaway: by visits sent to websites, ChatGPT remains far behind Google.

What does Google itself report?

Alphabet's third-quarter release, published October 28, reports search query growth as a rate, not a count. CEO Sundar Pichai said AI investments are driving overall search query growth and that Google's "year-over-year query growth rate is the highest it's been in the last five years."

The statement confirms growth but not absolute volume. Google did not publish a query count, so the one-fifth ratio cannot be checked against Alphabet's own numbers. Takeaway: Google confirmed momentum, not magnitude.

Does this mean ChatGPT is replacing Google search?

Neither figure supports that conclusion. Fry's number counts search requests ChatGPT users send to the web. Ahrefs' referral tracker counts visitors directed to websites. These are two different metrics, and neither shows whether ChatGPT searches substitute for Google searches or add to them.

One growth signal is firm. Big Technology reported that ChatGPT's weekly active users grew 20 percent over the last two months, from 1 billion to 1.2 billion. A larger user base will mechanically raise query counts. That is growth in usage, not proof of displacement.

For publishers and search teams, the practical lesson is definitional. If a channel plan includes ChatGPT as a search channel, report query volume and referral traffic separately, with definitions attached. Mixing the two will inflate or understate ChatGPT's role depending on which metric the audience prefers. Takeaway: name the metric before quoting the ratio.

What should teams monitor next?

Ahrefs updates its referral-share tracker monthly, which offers a regular outside view of the traffic ChatGPT actually sends to sites. OpenAI's one-fifth ratio will remain difficult to compare against other estimates until the company states which Google figure it used, over what period, and for which regions. Watch both the monthly referral shares and any OpenAI clarification of its baseline.