ChatGPT referral traffic to websites more than doubled between January and August 2026, according to new data from BrightEdge. Its share of all AI-generated referrals reached a record 95.1% in August. That was up from a low of 89.5% in April. In August alone, ChatGPT referrals jumped 36%, the largest monthly rise of the year. Gemini grew just 1% and held 2.4% of AI referral traffic. Claude fell 15% to 0.8%, and Perplexity dropped 17% to 1.1%. Together the three rivals accounted for only 4.3%, meaning ChatGPT generated roughly 22 times their combined share. BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu said the earlier part of the year showed users switching freely between platforms, but ChatGPT is now both reclaiming share and sending substantially more traffic to the open web. The findings underline ChatGPT’s growing role in how people discover brands online.
ChatGPT referral traffic to websites more than doubled between January and August 2026, according to new data from BrightEdge. Its share of all AI-generated referrals reached a record 95.1% in August. That was up from a low of 89.5% in April. In August alone, ChatGPT referrals jumped 36%, the largest monthly rise of the year. Gemini grew just 1% and held 2.4% of AI referral traffic. Claude fell 15% to 0.8%, and Perplexity dropped 17% to 1.1%. Together the three rivals accounted for only 4.3%, meaning ChatGPT generated roughly 22 times their combined share. BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu said the earlier part of the year showed users switching freely between platforms, but ChatGPT is now both reclaiming share and sending substantially more traffic to the open web. The findings underline ChatGPT’s growing role in how people discover brands online.