Ahrefs has introduced a new referral traffic tracker designed to measure how users arrive at websites via Google Search versus ChatGPT, reflecting the growing role of AI in content discovery.
Highlights
- Ahrefs has launched a public monthly dashboard tracking referral traffic from ChatGPT versus Google across over 44,000 websites.
- In July, ChatGPT contributed 0.19% of referral traffic, while Google remained dominant at 41.9%.
- Ahrefs reports ChatGPT referral traffic grew 5.3% month over month, compared to Google’s 1.4%.
- The company cautions that some AI-generated referrals may be undercounted due to missing referrer data.
The dashboard is updated monthly and currently covers data from 44,421 websites that use Ahrefs Web Analytics. The first snapshot, covering July data, places Google at 41.9% of tracked traffic and ChatGPT at 0.19%.
“ChatGPT is growing 3.8× faster than Google,” reports Ahrefs, noting that ChatGPT referral traffic rose 5.3%, compared to Google Search’s 1.4% increase.
“With 5.3% monthly growth vs Google’s 1.4% in the latest month, AI-powered search continues to evolve rapidly,” the company added.
“ChatGPT now drives measurable referral traffic to websites, representing a new channel that didn’t exist 2 years ago.”
Search Engine Journal
How the Tracker Works
To ensure accurate month-over-month comparisons, Ahrefs only includes sites that appear in every month’s dataset. This avoids sampling bias from new additions and ensures reliability in growth metrics.
The tracker relies on traditional referrer data. However, Ahrefs cautions that some AI systems may obscure or omit referral information—creating a known blind spot.
Industry Implications
While Google remains the dominant source of referral traffic, the tracker confirms that AI-driven discovery is now measurable, albeit still small in scale.
Experts project that although ChatGPT’s referral share is tiny now, its growth rate signals a shift in how users access content online. Observers note that mass adoption of AI-led search could impact how SEO and content strategies evolve over time.
Actionable Insights for Marketers
Analysts recommend that marketing teams use this data to:
- Monitor emerging referral trends to evaluate AI as a traffic source.
- Adjust content strategy if AI channels continue to grow—especially by tailoring content for AI context.
- Avoid over-investing in AI referrals until the channel becomes consistently significant.
Still, for publishers already tracking performance, seeing even a fractional referral percentage from ChatGPT could validate AI-focused content tweaks.
Limitations to Consider
Ahrefs data comes with caveats:
- It only reflects sites using Ahrefs Web Analytics—so not the full internet.
- Some AI referrals that strip referrer data may fall underreported, meaning the 0.19% figure for ChatGPT could be an underestimate.
Search Engine Journal
Context: AI Search Gaining Ground
Ahrefs tracks broader AI search patterns as well.
In a recent analysis, AI traffic has surged 9.7× over the past year across a sample of nearly 82,000 sites. Though still under 1% of total visits, AI referrals now convert at a higher rate than traditional search traffic.
Ahrefs
These numbers suggest that while AI referrals remain nascent, they are both growing rapidly and showing engagement potential.
Conclusion on Ahrefs referral traffic tracker
Ahrefs’s new referral tracker provides a rare quantitative view into how AI, particularly ChatGPT, is driving traffic today. With easy-to-read monthly updates, it allows site owners to measure AI’s role in content discovery.
Although Google continues to dominate, the early momentum of ChatGPT referrals serves as an indicator of how user behavior—and SEO—could shift in the AI era. Over time, watching these trends may become essential for digital publishers seeking visibility across emerging channels.
Tripti Yadav writes about digital growth strategies, combining SEO, design, and marketing insights.
