By Danny Goodwin
Publication Date: 2026-04-07 16:51:00
Over 30% of outbound clicks go to just 10 domains, with Google alone taking more than 20%, according to a new Semrush study published today.
ChatGPT also relies less on the live web, triggering search on 34.5% of queries, down from 46% in late 2024.
The big picture. ChatGPT’s growth has plateaued, and its role in how users navigate the web is evolving unevenly.
- Referral traffic from ChatGPT grew 206%, comparing January 2025 to January 2026.
The details. Most ChatGPT referral traffic still goes to a small set of sites, even as more sites receive some traffic.
- Google accounts for 21.6% of all ChatGPT referral traffic.
- The next nine domains bring the top 10 to just over 30% of referrals.
- Most other sites get a long tail of minimal traffic.
- The number of domains receiving referrals expanded, peaking at around 260,000 in 2025 before settling near 170,000.
Why we care. Visibility in ChatGPT doesn’t translate evenly into traffic, and you’ll…