Adoption: how many people actually use AI search
Per Pew Research Center's June 2025 survey, 34% of US adults had used ChatGPT — about double the share from 2023, with usage skewing younger and more educated. That's self-reported use of one assistant; it undercounts total AI-answer exposure, because Google now puts AI-generated answers in front of ordinary searchers who never chose an AI tool at all.
AI Overviews: prevalence and click behavior
Pew's behavioral study (July 2025, roughly 900 consenting US adults, 68,879 real Google searches) measured actual behavior rather than survey answers. An AI summary appeared on about 18% of searches during the March 2025 study window — and Ahrefs' larger keyword datasets tracked coverage climbing toward roughly a quarter of queries through late 2025. The behavioral findings are the important part:
| Behavior | With AI summary | Without AI summary |
|---|---|---|
| Clicked a traditional search result | 8% of visits | 15% of visits |
| Clicked a source link inside the AI summary | ~1% of visits | — |
| Ended their browsing session after the search | 26% of visits | 16% of visits |
Ahrefs' independent 300,000-keyword study points the same way: the presence of an AI Overview correlated with a 34.5% lower click-through rate for the top-ranking result. Different methods, same conclusion — AI answers satisfy (or at least end) a meaningful share of searches that used to produce clicks.
The projections worth knowing
Gartner predicted in February 2024 that traditional search engine volume would drop 25% by 2026, with search marketing losing share to AI chatbots and virtual agents. Semrush, analyzing 17 months of ChatGPT clickstream data, projects that AI-search visitors will overtake traditional search visitors by 2028. Treat both as directional forecasts, not measurements — but they bracket the same conclusion: the search-only playbook has a shelf life.
AI referral traffic: concentrated and high-intent
Search Engine Land's analysis of 6.77 million AI-referred sessions found ChatGPT responsible for roughly 92% of AI referral traffic — the channel is real but extremely concentrated in one assistant. On quality: Seer Interactive's case-study data showed ChatGPT-referred traffic converting at a higher rate than organic search traffic, consistent with the pre-qualification effect — the assistant has already matched the visitor's stated problem to your site before they click.
AI is reaching local and commercial queries too
This isn't just an informational-query phenomenon. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 45% of consumers have used ChatGPT or another generative AI tool for local business recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier — a signal that AI answers are moving into money queries, not just homework questions.
Sources
- Pew Research Center — 34% of US adults have used ChatGPT (June 2025)
- Pew Research Center — Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears
- Ahrefs — AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 34.5%
- Gartner — Search Engine Volume Will Drop 25% by 2026 (press release)
- Semrush — ChatGPT Traffic Analysis: 17 Months of Clickstream Data
- Search Engine Land — ChatGPT commands 92% of AI referral traffic
- Seer Interactive — How Traffic from ChatGPT Converts
- BrightLocal — Local Consumer Review Survey 2026