By Priya Raman

ChatGPT has regained momentum and still commands 81.4% of worldwide traffic to the six leading AI chatbots in July–September 2026, according to Graphite, a research and growth marketing firm.

The result answers an earlier concern: OpenAI’s lead looked vulnerable as Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, widely viewed as serious threats, gained momentum. Traffic tells a firmer story. Challengers can expand quickly without approaching the leader’s scale.

Graphite’s research, led by CEO Ethan Smith, analyzed worldwide web and mobile-app traffic to and from major AI services using Similarweb data. His team’s central finding was blunt: “ChatGPT now accounts for more than 81% of worldwide traffic to major AI chatbots.”

No competitor reached 10%. Graphite’s July–September 2026 chart gave the rest of the market a sharply fragmented shape:

• Claude: 6.8%.
• Gemini: 5.0%.
• DeepSeek: 4.0%.
• Grok: 1.9%.
• Perplexity: 0.9%.

What changed after ChatGPT’s plateau?

ChatGPT usage surged through the first half of 2025, then largely plateaued for seven months. Growth resumed in 2026, with monthly visits climbing nearly 20% to a record 61.35 billion in September, according to Graphite.

With total major-service visits up 37% year on year, ChatGPT’s rebound reflects category expansion as well as its own renewed momentum. The traffic data shows growth returning before OpenAI needs to take share from a rival.

Business Insider reporter Katie Notopoulos reported last week that ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users, adding a separate adoption measure to Graphite’s traffic series.

Traffic is not revenue, and visits are not people. The methodology records web and mobile-app activity, so the 81.4% figure measures chatbot traffic rather than revenue or registered accounts.

Are Claude and Gemini closing the gap?

Claude recorded extraordinary growth over the past year, while Gemini expanded quickly, according to Graphite. Both grew from much smaller starting points. At 6.8% and 5.0% of chatbot traffic, respectively, neither has come close to ChatGPT’s 81.4%.

Scale changes the economics. Their faster growth has not translated into a comparable share of category-wide demand, leaving OpenAI with the largest habitual destination for a category serving 76 billion monthly visits across major services.

The remaining traffic is still fragmented: DeepSeek holds 4.0%, Grok 1.9%, and Perplexity 0.9%, according to Graphite’s chart. No single challenger has formed a comparable second pole.

Is ChatGPT becoming a distribution platform?

Worldwide referral traffic—outbound clicks from an AI service to another website—jumped 92% over the past year, with ChatGPT responsible for 60% of those visits, according to Graphite.

That 60% share gives ChatGPT an additional route into the open web, not merely a destination for questions. Its advantage extends beyond attracting users; it also sends a large portion of AI-driven visits to other sites.

The referral figures show why chatbot traffic should not be judged by visits alone. OpenAI can direct large audiences elsewhere, broadening its distribution role even though Graphite’s study does not assign a revenue value to those clicks.

How is AI changing Google Search?

Google’s AI Overviews—AI-generated answers embedded directly in search results—now appear in 62% of US searches, according to Graphite. That places generative answers inside Google’s core search surface and accelerates the transformation of its traditional search business.

Google’s AI Mode, a more conversational version of Search, attracted 491 million US web visits in August, according to Graphite. The two products show Google using one interface for immediate answers and another for conversational interaction.

The strategic effect is direct pressure on traditional search behavior: Google increasingly supplies an answer within conventional results while inviting users into a conversational format. The study does not quantify the revenue effect for publishers or Google.

Where is the AI boom happening?

The US accounts for just 8.8% of worldwide AI traffic, according to Graphite’s study. More than 90% of usage therefore occurs outside America, despite the country’s leading role in developing the technology.

Monthly visits to major AI services reached 76 billion worldwide, up 37% from a year earlier, according to Graphite. The category is expanding quickly even as its traffic remains highly concentrated.

The numbers describe a two-speed market: demand is rising by 37%, but ChatGPT still holds 81.4% of chatbot traffic. OpenAI’s comeback is therefore both a growth story and a continued distribution advantage.