ChatGPT sends just 0.62% of Google's traffic — but it's a branding channel, argues iPullRank
VeryWellVersed · x · 2026-10-26
Three studies landed the same verdict this week: Marie Haynes found ChatGPT sends 0.62% of the traffic Google organic does across 100 sites; SEO Works found organic delivers 39x the traffic and 30x the conversions of AI assistants; Kevin Indig's 632 tests across 12 sites found no reliable link between AI visibility and branded/direct traffic. The viral takeaway: GEO is a distraction.
Mike King of iPullRank pushes back: the numbers are right, the category is wrong — judging a brand channel with a traffic ruler is like rating a Super Bowl spot by CTR. ChatGPT now reaches 1.2B weekly users (up from 900M in February), Google AI Mode has crossed 1B monthly users, AI Overviews reach 2.5B, and the Gemini app is nearing 1B. If locals ask ChatGPT for a lawyer and your firm gets named, that counts even without clicks. Measure AI search as a branding channel, not a performance channel.
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