Marie Haynes looked at a year of data from 100 websites. ChatGPT sent 0.62% as many visits as Google organic search.
Dominic Coutts
AI traffic converts well but the volume is tiny. Build for it, but don't move budget away from search to chase it.
What happened
Marie Haynes analysed 12 months of GA4 data from 100 sites and 145 million sessions. ChatGPT sent 0.62% as many visits as Google organic, or 0.73% with all AI tools combined.
On the 55 sites tracking conversions, ChatGPT visitors converted at 13.8% against 3.02% for Google, but Google still produced 27 times more conversions in total. ChatGPT referrals stopped growing in August 2025.
What it means for you
AI tools are a real channel, and the people they send are often ready to buy. But for most businesses Google is still where the enquiries come from. If AI visits are under 1% of your organic traffic, that's normal rather than a problem. Other studies put the range at roughly 1% to 4% depending on the sector.
What to do
- Keep investing in Google search first. It's also what many AI tools draw on.
- Track AI referrals separately in your analytics so you can see the trend.
- Add a "how did you hear about us" question to your enquiry form. It catches what analytics misses.
Search Engine Land
Real and worth watching, but nothing to act on yet.
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