Is AI Search Killing Google? Not Yet, But the Traffic It Sends is Super High Quality

Note: Summarized with AI for your enjoyment.

I came across an interesting article that looked at real-world data to compare traffic from Google Search vs. AI Search (like ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.). With all the hype around AI, I thought you'd find the results interesting.

Here are the main takeaways:

• Google is Still King (By a Lot): When it comes to the sheer volume of traffic, it's not even a contest. Google accounts for about 94% of all search traffic to the websites analyzed. AI search tools combined account for less than 0.01%. So, Google isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
• AI Traffic Quality is Surprisingly High: This is the most fascinating part. Even though the amount of traffic from AI is tiny, the visitors it sends are much more engaged.
• They spend more time on the site.
• They view more pages per session.
• They are far less likely to "bounce" (leave after viewing only one page).
• It's All About User Intent: The theory is that people use AI for deeper research. When an AI recommends a website, the user is already in a "learning mode" and is more likely to explore the topic in-depth. In contrast, a Google user might just be looking for a quick answer or a specific product.

The bottom line: Don't panic about AI replacing Google for traffic volume yet. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, authoritative content. That's what AI models will cite, and the small amount of traffic you get from them will likely be from highly valuable, engaged users.

Curious to hear your thoughts. Have any of you checked your analytics and seen traffic from ChatGPT or Perplexity? Does this data match up with your experience?

Source: https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/ai-search-traffic-compared-to-google/

To be honest I am more on chatgpt than Google these days, for recommendations or A/B type queries.

Google is more for general searches when I need to find a certain site or link ( 2- 3 step scenarios)

From what I've seen in clients, AI traffic behaves like traffic from top10s.. Which makes a lot of sense.

roydan said:

From what I've seen in clients, AI traffic behaves like traffic from top10s.. Which makes a lot of sense.

Click to expand...

pretty cool if ya think about all the chances we've had to rank

I’d let LLMs use my affiliate program if they recommended me more

Shared my thoughts on other threads about this before.

Personally it's nothing to worry about for the moment I dont think. Adaption is too early. AI in search is shiny syndrome