Quick answer: As of mid-2026, ChatGPT has 900+ million weekly active users, Google AI Overviews reach 2+ billion monthly users, generative AI platforms drew 9.5 billion monthly visits (up 70% year over year, per Similarweb), and 68% of US Google searches end without a click to the open web. Forrester finds 89% of B2B buyers now use generative AI as a top research source.
What are the most important AI search statistics in 2026?
If you only carry five AI search statistics into your next planning meeting, make it these:
- 900+ million weekly active ChatGPT users as of February 2026 (reporting compiled by Backlinko).
- 2+ billion monthly users reached by Google AI Overviews, across 200+ countries, per Google's own announcements.
- 68.01% of US Google searches ended without a click to the open web in January–April 2026, per Similarweb clickstream data published by SparkToro — up from 60.45% in 2024.
- +70% year over year growth in monthly visits to generative AI platforms, reaching 9.5 billion, per Similarweb (June 2025–May 2026).
- 89% of B2B buyers have adopted generative AI as a top source of self-guided buying information, per Forrester.
The pattern behind the numbers: question-asking is migrating from ten blue links to generated answers. If you're new to why that changes marketing, start with our pillar guide to answer engine optimization.
How many people use ChatGPT and other AI assistants?
ChatGPT usage statistics remain the clearest signal of behavior change:
- ChatGPT: 900+ million weekly active users as of February 2026, per reporting compiled by Backlinko — roughly triple its user base from two years earlier.
- Gemini: 950+ million monthly users, announced on Google's Q2 2026 earnings call as reported by TechCrunch — up from 750 million in February 2026.
- Generative AI platforms overall: 655 million unique monthly visitors (up 57% year over year) and 9.5 billion average monthly visits (up 70%), per Similarweb's June 2025–May 2026 analysis.
- Perplexity: the company doesn't publish official user counts; third-party trackers compiled by Gradually estimate roughly 1.2–1.5 billion queries per month by mid-2026, up from a reported ~780 million in May 2025.
- Engagement is deep: the average ChatGPT web session ran 12 minutes 34 seconds in March 2026 (Semrush data via Backlinko) — several times longer than a typical search session.
What does AI search market share look like?
Two things are true at once in 2026: Google is still the front door of the web, and the AI assistant market underneath it is fragmenting fast. Similarweb's traffic-share data for generative AI platforms shows how quickly the leaderboard is shifting:
| Platform | Share of gen-AI traffic, mid-2025 | Share of gen-AI traffic, May 2026 | Trend |
|---|
| ChatGPT | ~76% | ~53% | Still dominant, share shrinking |
| Gemini | <9% | ~27–28% | Fastest riser, powered by Google distribution |
| Claude | ~2% | ~9% | Rapid growth from a small base |
| Perplexity & others | single digits | single digits | Niche but citation-rich |
Source: Similarweb generative AI traffic analysis, June 2025–May 2026.
The takeaway for AI search market share: optimizing for one engine is a 2024 strategy. ChatGPT lost more than 20 points of AI-traffic share in a year while Gemini tripled. Each engine retrieves from a different index — which is why understanding how AI search engines work matters before you invest.
How far do Google AI Overviews reach?
- 2+ billion monthly users. Google says AI Overviews reach more than 2 billion people monthly across 200+ countries and 40+ languages.
- Coverage: 20% to ~half of queries, depending on the study. Similarweb clickstream data cited by SparkToro puts AI Overviews on 20%+ of US searches; SEO-platform datasets that skew informational report substantially higher coverage. Treat any single coverage number with caution — query mix drives it.
- Clicks drop when an Overview appears. Pew Research Center found users clicked a traditional result on just 8% of visits with an AI summary present, versus 15% without one.
- AI Mode is scaling too: Google reported over 1 billion monthly AI Mode users by mid-2026, though Similarweb data (via SparkToro) shows it was used on only 0.34% of observed US searches in January–April 2026 — enormous reach, still-small habitual use.
What's happening to clicks and AI referral traffic?
The zero-click era is here, measurably:
- 68.01% of US Google searches ended without a click to the open web in early 2026 (Similarweb data via SparkToro), up from 60.45% in 2024 — the fastest two-year acceleration on record.
- AI Overviews cut CTR by roughly 60% on queries where they appear, per the same analysis — consistent with Pew's 8%-vs-15% click-rate finding.
- AI tools still send less than 1% of all referral traffic to websites (SparkToro), so AI referrals won't replace lost organic clicks one-for-one anytime soon.
- But citation behavior is improving: Similarweb found the share of ChatGPT responses containing citations rose from about 1.6% in June 2025 to roughly 6.8% by May 2026 — more answers now carry outbound links than a year ago.
In the programs we run for B2B SaaS clients, the AI-referred visitors who do click through consistently behave like late-stage buyers: they arrive pre-educated by the answer and convert at multiples of organic averages. Smaller stream, higher-grade ore.
How are B2B buyers using AI search?
For B2B SaaS specifically, the buyer-side numbers are the ones that should reshape budgets:
- 89% of B2B buyers have adopted generative AI and name it one of their top sources of self-guided information in every phase of the buying process, per Forrester's buyer research.
- Roughly 20%+ of Americans now use an AI tool ten or more times per month, per SparkToro's 2026 analysis — habitual use, not experimentation.
- Vendor discovery is moving upstream. When shortlists form inside ChatGPT or Gemini, the "first touch" happens in an answer you don't control — assembled from reviews, comparison articles, and community threads about you.
That's why measurement has to change: you can't see these journeys in analytics until the final click, if there is one. Systematic prompt testing — covered in our guide to AI visibility tracking — is how teams quantify their share of AI answers today.
Key takeaways
- AI assistants are mainstream: 900M+ weekly ChatGPT users, 950M+ monthly Gemini users, 2B+ reached by AI Overviews.
- Zero-click passed a tipping point: 68% of US Google searches now end without a click to the open web.
- The gen-AI market is fragmenting — ChatGPT's traffic share fell from ~76% to ~53% in twelve months.
- AI referrals are small (<1% of traffic) but growing fast and converting like late-stage demand.
- 89% of B2B buyers already research with generative AI — your category answers are being written with or without you.
Frequently asked questions
How many people use ChatGPT in 2026?
ChatGPT passed 900 million weekly active users by February 2026, according to reporting compiled by Backlinko. That makes it the most-used AI assistant in the world, though its share of total generative AI traffic has fallen as Gemini and Claude grow. For marketers, weekly actives are the number that matters: they represent recurring question-asking behavior that used to flow through classic search.
What percentage of Google searches show AI Overviews?
Estimates range from roughly 20% of searches to nearly half of tracked queries, depending on the study, market, and query mix. Similarweb clickstream data cited by SparkToro puts AI Overviews on 20%+ of US searches in early 2026, while some SEO-platform datasets that skew toward informational keywords report far higher coverage. Google itself says AI Overviews reach more than 2 billion monthly users.
What percentage of searches end without a click?
About 68% of US Google searches ended without a click to the open web in January–April 2026, per Similarweb clickstream data published by SparkToro. That is up from roughly 60% in 2024, the fastest acceleration in a decade, driven largely by AI Overviews answering queries directly on the results page.
How much traffic does AI search send to websites?
Still a small share — SparkToro's 2026 analysis found AI tools collectively send less than 1% of all referral traffic to websites — but it is growing fast and converts unusually well. Similarweb measured 70% year-over-year growth in visits to generative AI platforms through May 2026, and rising citation rates mean more answers now carry outbound links than a year ago.
Do B2B buyers actually use AI search for purchase research?
Yes. Forrester's buyer research found 89% of B2B buyers have adopted generative AI and name it a top source of self-guided information in every phase of the buying process. In practice that means shortlists are increasingly assembled inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity before a vendor's website ever gets a visit — which is why AI visibility now sits alongside SEO in B2B marketing plans.
KS
Keith Schilling — Founder & Principal Consultant, Helix Apps
Keith has spent 15+ years leading enterprise SEO and demand generation — including AI Search Optimization for PayPal Developer Marketing and enterprise SEO for IBM Watson — and now runs GEO/AEO programs for B2B SaaS companies at Helix Apps.