ChatGPT is the world's second-largest search engine, OpenAI claims

OpenAI’s ChatGPT claims to have reached around 20% of Google’s search volume, a figure that, if accurate, would make it the world’s second-largest search engine. ChatGPT consumer product lead Adam Fry made the claim in an interview at an OpenAI dinner in New York on November 2, as cited in a report from Big Technology and Search Engine Roundtable. But the metric depends on a broad definition. Fry counts “Search-like queries,” any prompt that triggers a web lookup, including questions users might never have typed into a traditional search box. Since ChatGPT now routinely searches the web for many prompts, independent verification is difficult. Third-party estimates are notably lower; for example, Ahrefs puts ChatGPT at about 12% of Google’s traditional search volume, while seoClarity estimates just 7.5%.