Recent data reveals that Google is successfully keeping users engaged on its platform longer, with visitors now clicking 10 times within Google before exiting to another site. This insight stems from a 13-month comparative study of user behavior on Google and ChatGPT.
Comparing User Engagement: Google vs. ChatGPT
Tyler Einberger from Momentic utilized Similarweb data to demonstrate that Google’s “pages per visit” metric reached a new high of 10 by March, marking a significant increase from previous figures. This metric indicates that users are interacting more extensively with Google’s search results, engaging with various features without leaving the domain.
Despite this, Google remains the top referrer to external sites, with 175.5 million outgoing visits in March, a 66.4% rise from the previous year, overshadowing ChatGPT’s 57.6 million.
Efficiency in Driving External Traffic
However, when it comes to efficiency in directing users to external sites, ChatGPT outperforms Google. The data shows:
- ChatGPT generates 1.4 external website visits per user.
- Google only produces 0.6 visits per user.
This means ChatGPT users are 2.3 times more likely to visit external websites compared to Google users, highlighting a significant difference in user redirection despite Google’s larger audience.
Google’s SERP Retention Strategy
Google has been enhancing its search features to provide immediate answers, which keeps users within its ecosystem longer. This strategy aligns with Google’s dual goals of dominating web traffic and increasing user engagement on its properties.
- Remaining the primary source of web traffic.
- Extending the duration users spend on Google’s platform.
Although Google’s outgoing traffic increased early in 2025, its audience growth was minimal, indicating a complex balance between retaining users and directing them to other sites.
Implications for SEO and Marketing
For SEO professionals and marketers, these trends pose new challenges and opportunities:
- Maximizing visibility in Google’s first screen view is crucial as users spend more time within Google’s interfaces.
- Enhancing presence in featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other SERP elements is vital as traditional organic clicks decline.
- Exploring AI platforms like ChatGPT as alternative traffic sources due to their higher referral efficiency.
- Adapting content strategies to accommodate users’ interactions with multiple SERP features before clicking through to a website.
Emerging AI Search Platforms
While Google and ChatGPT are at the forefront, other AI search platforms like Perplexity, Grok, and Claude are rapidly gaining traction, potentially altering current traffic dynamics. These platforms saw significant user growth in March, with Perplexity growing by 110.7%, Grok by 48.1%, and Claude by 23%.
As these platforms evolve, they could reshape how traffic is distributed across the web, suggesting that marketers should diversify their traffic sources to adapt to these changes.
