How Much Web Traffic Does ChatGPT Actually Drive? New Data Offers a Billion-Visit Answer
A new exchange between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and analytics platform Similarweb reveals just how influential ChatGPT is becoming as a traffic source for the web.
🚨 The Key Insight:ChatGPT drove 1.15 billion clicks to external websites in just 90 days. That’s more than 10x what Google Gemini delivered in the same timeframe.
🧵 Here’s What Happened:Sam Altman praised Airbnb’s new UI on X.Similarweb chimed in: ChatGPT sent ~465,000 visits to Airbnb in the past 3 months.Altman asked: “How much total traffic is ChatGPT sending out?”Similarweb dropped the stat: 1.15 billion outbound visits from ChatGPT.They also posted a list of the top 50 sites benefiting from ChatGPT traffic.📊 AI Traffic Comparison (Last 90 Days):SourceOutbound Visits
ChatGPT (OpenAI) — 1.15 billionGemini (Google) — 91.6 millionDeepSeek — 52 millionGrok (xAI) — 26.5 million
Q: Who reported these traffic numbers?
A: Similarweb, a digital intelligence platform, based on recent web traffic analytics.
Q: What triggered this data release?
A: A public thread on X between Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO), Airbnb and Similarweb.
Q: Which site was used as an example?
A: Airbnb, which received 465,000+ visits from ChatGPT in 90 days.
Q: How does ChatGPT compare to other AI tools in traffic generation?
A: ChatGPT drives significantly more traffic than Gemini, Perplexity, or Grok.
Q: Where can I see the top 50 sites ChatGPT links to?
A: Similarweb shared screenshots of the top traffic recipients in the thread. The full data here
Sam Altman — CEO of OpenAI, often shares product insights and AI commentary on X.
Similarweb — Leading analytics firm tracking digital behavior and web trends.


