ChatGPT now handles search-like queries equal to 20% of Google's volume, OpenAI says
OpenAI's math rests on a broad definition of search that isn't necessarily Google's, and it comes as ChatGPT hits 1.2 billion weekly users.
OpenAI estimates that ChatGPT now handles a volume of search-like queries equal to 20% of what Google sees. The estimate came from Adam Fry, who leads ChatGPT's consumer product. He also said the platform has reached 1.2 billion weekly users.
According to Eurisko, in a report published on November 3, Fry shared the figures in an interview with the Big Technology newsletter. There, he said the tool is reaching a scale comparable to that of traditional search engines. By his account, ChatGPT added roughly 200 million users in two months.
What OpenAI counts as search
OpenAI's metric is search-like queries. It covers the moments when someone would have turned to a conventional search engine but asks ChatGPT instead. That includes questions that require outside information and queries where the tool goes to the web to put together its answer.
That definition matters for the comparison. On Google, a search usually starts with a query and ends on a page of links, direct answers or specialized features. On ChatGPT, a single interaction can bundle the opening question, several follow-up messages and an answer assembled from multiple sources. In other words, the two services are not necessarily counting the same activity.
The report applies the 20% ratio to the benchmark of 16 billion daily searches attributed to Google, which would work out to 3.2 billion queries a day on ChatGPT. The piece itself cautions that this figure is an illustrative calculation, not an independent, validated count, and that the methodologies may differ.
Other numbers from the interview
OpenAI also shared data on image generation and voice use. Those uses show the platform goes beyond text queries, but they should not automatically be classified as search.
Fry did not update the total number of paying subscribers. He pointed to the last public figure, 50 million, and said the number has grown, without saying by how much.
The company has already tried paths to compete head-on with search engines. SearchGPT started out as a web search initiative and was eventually folded into ChatGPT, a sign that OpenAI prefers to build search into its core product.
What this means for brand and marketing teams
If a growing share of questions gets answered inside AI interfaces, a website visit is no longer the only way to reach an audience. Even so, the raw volumes do not support the conclusion that Google has lost a fifth of its market: the metrics are not equivalent, and people may use both services side by side.
Key questions
Does ChatGPT already have 20% of Google's search market?
Not exactly. OpenAI is comparing search-like queries under a broad definition, and the two services' metrics are not necessarily equivalent.
How many users does ChatGPT have today?
According to Adam Fry, 1.2 billion weekly users, after adding roughly 200 million in two months.
How many people pay for ChatGPT?
The last public figure is 50 million subscribers. Fry said the number has grown but did not say by how much.
Source: Google Notícias (português).