According to OpenAI Consumer Product Lead Adam Fry, the volume of search-like queries in ChatGPT is roughly one-fifth the volume of Google queries, while weekly active users grew from 1 billion to 1.2 billion in two months.
The figures came from a November 2, 2026 conversation between Fry and Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology at an OpenAI-hosted event. Fry explained that OpenAI counts a search when ChatGPT performs a web search in response to a question. He did not disclose the underlying query counts or comparison methodology, so the 20% figure remains an OpenAI claim rather than a measured search-market share.
What the 20% Figure Does and Does Not Mean
- Reported numerator: The volume of search-like queries in ChatGPT, meaning questions for which ChatGPT runs a web search.
- Comparison basis: The volume of Google queries. Fry did not identify the source or measurement period used for that comparison.
- Date: Fry made the comparison during the November 2, 2026 conversation with Alex Kantrowitz.
- What counts as a search: A question that causes ChatGPT to search the web. It is not every prompt or every message in a conversation.
Why the 20% Claim Matters to Agency Teams
Fry said people use ChatGPT for information about people, places and things, as well as finance and health questions that benefit from current facts.
That means an agency review should look beyond page titles and conventional rankings. It should ask whether search systems can retrieve the client’s essential facts and whether the website clearly identifies the company, its services and the source of information it publishes.
Earlier market estimates also differ because researchers use different definitions and dates. A 2025 analysis by SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin estimated that Google Search handled about 373 times as many searches as ChatGPT in 2024. It used an estimated 37.5 million search-like ChatGPT prompts per day against Google’s reported 5 trillion annual searches. A later analysis of the 20% claim found outside estimates ranging from 0.27% to 20%, depending on the definition of search and the measurement date.
These figures are not directly comparable. The older analysis covered 2024, while Fry discussed usage in late 2026. Use a defined metric, record its date and compare the same client over time.
What an Agency Should Check for Clients
Review Freshness by Page Type
Ask which client pages depend on changing facts. Set review schedules according to the information each page contains and how often it needs checking. A page that relies on current information should show a responsible review date or an updated date where appropriate. For regulated or expert material, include the named author or reviewer, supporting sources and a date that helps readers judge the information.
Make Core Business Details Visible
Check that company name, product and service names, address or service area, contact details and other essential facts appear in crawlable page text. Compare those details across the home page, service pages, contact page and business listings. Record conflicts and ask the client owner which version is correct. The aim is a consistent factual footprint that both people and retrieval systems can interpret.
Check Structured Data Against Visible Content
Ask the developer to review structured data for consistency with the page. Organization details, business location, services and other relevant markup should describe what a visitor can already see. This audit should include implementation errors and validation results rather than relying on the presence of a schema type alone.
Confirm Indexability and Crawler Access
OpenAI’s official crawler documentation distinguishes OAI-SearchBot, which is used to surface websites in ChatGPT search answers, from GPTBot, which is used for gathering material for model training. The settings operate independently. According to OpenAI’s official crawler documentation, sites that are opted out of OAI-SearchBot will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers, though they can still appear as navigational links.
For an agency audit, ask the developer to review robots.txt rules, published crawler ranges and server logs. Do not infer access from a crawler name alone, and do not treat GPTBot access as a requirement for search inclusion. The review should confirm the intended access rules for the client’s business objectives.
Review Crawlable Text
Ask whether the information an AI system needs is available as crawlable text. Check that important content is not present only inside client-side rendering, interactive controls or elements that a crawler cannot process. Ask the developer to compare the rendered page with the delivered HTML and explain any differences. This is a review request rather than a prescribed implementation method.
Keep a Repeatable AI Visibility Log
Create a dated log for a fixed set of client prompts. Record whether the client or its products are mentioned, which URLs are cited, whether the answer is accurate and whether the site receives referral traffic. Keep lead attribution consistent with the agency’s existing analytics process.
BizScoreAI provides AI-Audit and AI Scan tools that test-drive a website and report what an AI agent finds.
How to Measure AI Visibility Without Inflating the Result
Start with a small, defined set of questions that represent real customer decisions. Record the answer, cited pages and date each time. If the client is absent, record the absence rather than treating the prompt as a ranking position. Track mentions and citations separately.
Referral data should also be handled separately. Report visibility observations and traffic or leads actually attributable to the client separately.
Pew Research Center’s June 2026 survey of U.S. adults found that 49% reported using AI chatbots, up from 33% in 2024. The survey also found that 42% of adults had used AI to search for information.
What to Do Now
- Add an AI visibility section to the next client report. Track a fixed set of prompts, brand mentions, cited URLs and referral outcomes. State the observation date and preserve the exact question used.
- Ask the client team to identify pages that depend on changing facts. Prioritize company, product, service, location and contact information, followed by finance and health content that requires named authorship, source attribution and freshness checks.
- Give the developer a crawler-access brief. Ask for confirmation of OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot rules, crawlable content, structured-data consistency and any barriers to retrieval. Keep the two crawler purposes separate.
- Create a current-information review cycle. Assign an owner to check factual pages, resolve conflicts between pages and listings, and document which information changed and when.
- Keep the reporting honest. Present OpenAI’s 20% comparison as a company claim. Use client-level measurements to determine whether the site’s facts are retrievable, whether the brand is cited and whether the visibility creates useful traffic.
FAQ
Who Reported the 20% Figure?
OpenAI Consumer Product Lead Adam Fry said ChatGPT’s search-like query volume was roughly one-fifth the volume of Google queries in a November 2, 2026 conversation with Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology.
Does Every ChatGPT Message Count as a Search?
No. Fry described a search as a question for which ChatGPT searches the web. Information-seeking questions may trigger a search, while a conversation can contain prompts that do not require one.
What Should Agencies Monitor for Clients?
Agencies can review content freshness, visible business details, structured-data consistency, indexability, crawler access, named authorship and source attribution, crawlable text, AI mentions, cited URLs, referral traffic and leads.
Related coverage
- OpenAI Sets Shared ChatGPT and Codex Usage Allowance for December
- Google Search Volatility Rises as Ads, Merchant Center and Search Controls Change
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