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AI monthly sessions are now 56% the size of search worldwide
New research from Graphite.io, published this week, overturns the conventional view that AI usage data: typically drawn solely from web traffic: provides the full picture. Combining web visits and mobile app sessions across the top five LLM products (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude), the study finds that AI now receives 45 billion monthly sessions worldwide, equivalent to 56% of search engine sessions globally and 34% in the US.
What changed
The most striking methodological finding is that previous studies missed 83% of AI usage, which occurs in mobile apps rather than on the web, making web-only comparisons with Google systematically understated by a factor of 4 to 5. ChatGPT alone now holds a 20% share of global search-related traffic (asking prompts only), with Google's search market share falling from 89% in 2023 to 71% by Q4 2025 worldwide.
Critically, the research finds that search volume has not declined: the pie has grown. Total search usage across search engines and AI combined increased by 26% worldwide, from Q1 2023 to Q4 2025. AI is incrementally growing in demand rather than cannibalising existing search traffic.
Why it matters for advertisers
For you, this means budget allocation decisions should reflect AI search as a distinct and growing discovery surface, not a Google substitute: and channel strategy should evolve to include visibility in AI-cited content rather than relying solely on traditional SERP rankings.
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AI monthly sessions are now 56% the size of search worldwide
New research from Graphite.io, published this week, overturns the conventional view that AI usage data: typically drawn solely from web traffic: provides the full picture. Combining web visits and mobile app sessions across the top five LLM products (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude), the study finds that AI now receives 45 billion monthly sessions worldwide, equivalent to 56% of search engine sessions globally and 34% in the US.
The most striking methodological finding is that previous studies missed 83% of AI usage, which occurs in mobile apps rather than on the web, making web-only comparisons with Google systematically understated by a factor of 4 to 5. ChatGPT alone now holds a 20% share of global search-related traffic (asking prompts only), with Google's search market share falling from 89% in 2023 to 71% by Q4 2025 worldwide.
Critically, the research finds that search volume has not declined: the pie has grown. Total search usage across search engines and AI combined increased by 26% worldwide, from Q1 2023 to Q4 2025. AI is incrementally growing in demand rather than cannibalising existing search traffic.
For you, this means budget allocation decisions should reflect AI search as a distinct and growing discovery surface, not a Google substitute: and channel strategy should evolve to include visibility in AI-cited content rather than relying solely on traditional SERP rankings.
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