Despite the growing popularity of AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, traditional search engines—especially Google—continue to dominate online search traffic. From April 2024 to March 2025, chatbot traffic accounted for only 2.96% of all search engine visits, generating 34 times fewer visits than search engines. In terms of daily engagement, the gap remains significant: as of March 2025, chatbots received 233.1 million daily visits compared to 5.5 billion for search engines—a 24X disparity.
Search Engines Still Rule: Google and ChatGPT Lead, But Gap Remains Wide
A study tracking visits to the top 10 AI chatbots and top 10 search engines from April 2023 to March 2025 reinforces this trend. Google remains the leader among search engines with an 87.57% market share, while ChatGPT holds the top spot among chatbots with an 86.32% share. Microsoft Bing and Yandex follow Google in search engine usage, whereas Grok and DeepSeek are rapidly emerging players in the chatbot space, with DeepSeek slightly ahead in growth.
Even with its impressive rise, ChatGPT still gets about 26 times fewer daily visits than Google, underscoring the enduring dominance of search engines. Yahoo, on the other hand, has struggled to stay relevant, experiencing a 22.5% year-over-year decline in visits compared to Google and Bing.
AI Enhances, Not Replaces: How Search Engines Are Evolving with AI Integration
Interestingly, AI itself is helping to reinforce the strength of search engines. In early 2025, platforms like Google and Bing saw a boost in traffic by integrating AI-powered tools such as AI Overviews and Search Generative Experience. These features are drawing users back to traditional search platforms by enhancing the quality and personalization of search results, demonstrating that rather than replacing search engines, AI is increasingly becoming part of their evolution.
Summary:
Despite AI chatbots gaining traction, search engines like Google still dominate, with chatbot traffic forming just 2.96% of total visits. Google leads with 87.57% market share, while ChatGPT tops chatbots. AI features in search engines, like AI Overviews, are boosting engagement, showing AI enhances rather than replaces traditional search.
