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Generative AI is transforming how people search for information, shifting behaviors away from traditional search engines like Google and Bing.
The generative AI market is projected to expand annually by 24.4% through 2030. This surge is already influencing search trends, with ChatGPT increasingly directing traffic to a wider range of websites.
By analyzing millions of clickstream records, Semrush and Statista identified these key trends and changes in search intent, prompt length, and referral traffic distribution:
- Market growth: The generative AI market was valued at $67 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow 24.4% annually through 2030.
- Shift in search behavior: AI-powered search, like ChatGPT, is reshaping how people discover content, often prioritizing smaller domains over traditional search engines.
- Traffic redirection: ChatGPT has rapidly increased its role in web traffic distribution, referring users to over 30,000 unique domains per day by November 2024.
- SearchGPT on vs. off: About 54% of queries were handled without live web search, while 46% used the search feature, influencing the types of results shown.
- Prompt length differences: ChatGPT queries without web search were longer (avg. 23 words), while those with search were shorter (avg. 4.2 words), mimicking Google-style searches.
- Search intent evolution: Only 30% of ChatGPT queries fit traditional search intent categories (informational, commercial, navigational, transactional), with 70% being new or unique.
- SEO & marketing adaptation: Experts suggest optimizing for AI-driven search through listicles, brand mentions, and visibility strategies as ChatGPT changes search intent patterns.
- Emerging traffic trends: Tech and AI-related domains receive significantly more traffic from ChatGPT than from Google, indicating a shift in digital traffic sources.
Take a closer look at the full report by Semrush.
