AI assistants now equal 56% of global search engine volume

AI assistants now equal 56% of global search engine volume: Study Is your organic traffic disappearing? See why competitors are outranking you and take back your visibility with Semrush. Identify traffic-stealing competitors Find untapped keyword opportunities Create content that ranks higher Input Instant analysis, no credit card needed. Table of contents Back to top SEO » Article AI assistants now equal 56% of global search engine volume: Study Published: March 9, 2026 at 12:08 pm Read Time: 2 minutes Published: Mar 9, 2026, 12:08 pm · 2 min read Written by Danny Goodwin Share Written by Danny Goodwin Table of Contents Table of Contents Mobile apps drive most activity as ChatGPT, Gemini and others push AI discovery to 45 billion monthly sessions, new analysis finds. AI tools now generate 45 billion monthly sessions worldwide — about 56% of search engine volume, according to a study by Graphite.io CEO Ethan Smith. The analysis combines web traffic and mobile app usage across major AI tools and estimates AI activity equals 56% of global search usage and 34% in the U.S. Much of this growth is occurring in mobile apps such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude. Why we care . AI is expanding discovery, not shrinking search demand. Total usage across search engines and AI assistants has grown 26% globally since 2023. In other words, it’s not SEO vs. GEO — you need both LLM visibility and traditional rankings. The details . The report analyzed usage across the five largest LLM products — ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude — and compared them with the six largest search engines. Key findings: AI platforms generate 45 billion monthly sessions worldwide. In the U.S., AI accounts for 5.4 billion monthly sessions. 83% of global AI usage occurs inside mobile apps (75% in the U.S.). ChatGPT dominates AI usage, representing 89% of global AI sessions. When isolating search-like prompts (“asking”), AI usage equals 28% of search worldwide and 17% in the U.S. The report excludes prompts categorized as “doing” or “expressing.” According to OpenAI research, about 52% of prompts are information-seeking, the closest equivalent to traditional search queries. Between the lines . Most projections comparing AI to search use web traffic alone, typically comparing Google.com visits with ChatGPT website traffic. That misses most AI usage. The analysis argues these comparisons underestimate AI activity by 4–5x because most usage occurs in mobile apps. It also includes multiple LLMs and multiple search engines rather than comparing only Google and ChatGPT. What to watch . Google still dominates discovery, but its share of search-related activity fell from 89% in 2023 to 71% in Q4 2025, the report estimates. Global AI usage appears to have plateaued since July 2025, while U.S. usage continues to grow rapidly — up roughly 300% year over year by December 2025. The report. AI Is Much Bigger Than You Think Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush . We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc. About the Author Danny Goodwin Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo - SMX . He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events. Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Find Your SEO Issues in 30 Seconds Free technical audit shows what's blocking your search visibility. Audit My Site Powered by Semrush • Try TechCrunch Webinar Is Your Content Falling Through the AI Cracks? Report Identity Resolution Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide Whitepaper The Marketer’s Channel Playbook Related Articles SEO Google AI Overviews cut search clicks 42%: Report Danny Goodwin SEO Google Maps turns exploration into a conversation with Ask Maps Anu Adegbola SEO Prompt research: The next layer of SEO and GEO strategy Casey Nifong Webinars Is Your Content Falling Through the AI Cracks? Protect Your Reputation in 2026: Preventing & Fighting Fake Reviews Tackling Privacy and Personalization: Fireside Chat with PwC and the NFL View all Webinars Intelligence Reports Identity Resolution Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide Call Analytics and Conversation Intelligence Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide Customer Data Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide View all Intelligence Reports White Papers The Marketer’s Channel Playbook Global Benchmark Report 2026: Cross-Channel Marketing Moving AI From Pilots Into Production View all White Papers Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Find Your SEO Issues in 30 Seconds Free technical audit shows what's blocking your search visibility. Audit My Site Powered by Semrush • Try TechCrunch