AI Traffic Has Increased 9.7x in the Past Year

Posted on June 26, 2025
Source: Data & Studies – SEO Blog by Ahrefs by Louise Linehan. Read the original article

TL;DR Summary of Ahrefs’ Latest AI Traffic Growth Analysis

AI-driven traffic is growing steadily but remains under 1% of total site traffic, with ChatGPT leading as the top AI referrer. Overall search traffic has declined by 21% in the past year, partially due to AI features like AI Overviews. Despite AI’s rise, Google remains the dominant traffic source, and AI traffic is unlikely to replace traditional search traffic anytime soon.

Optimixed’s Overview: Understanding the Shifting Landscape of AI Referral Traffic and Search Decline

Key Insights into AI Traffic Trends and Their Impact on Website Traffic

Recent research analyzing over 81,000 websites reveals significant changes in how AI influences web traffic. While AI referral traffic has increased roughly tenfold over the past year, it still accounts for a marginal share (~0.25%) of overall traffic. This growth is mainly driven by ChatGPT, which now contributes more AI traffic than Reddit and LinkedIn combined, and has grown by 85% since January.

Decline in Traditional Search Traffic

  • The average site has seen a 21% drop in traditional search traffic over the last year, likely due to AI-powered tools like AI Overviews and AI Mode.
  • Many AI-driven visits are currently categorized as “search” in analytics, making it difficult to separate AI search traffic from traditional search.
  • Despite the rise of AI, Google continues to dominate as a referral source, sending 210 times more traffic than the combined “Big Three” AI platforms.

Emerging Trends in AI Referral Platforms

  • ChatGPT is now the leading AI referrer, responsible for over 80% of AI traffic and showing consistent growth.
  • Other AI platforms such as Copilot have recovered from outages and are contributing more traffic than competitors like Gemini.
  • The combined traffic from the top three AI referrers has increased to 0.19% of total site traffic, up from 0.12% earlier in the year.

Strategic Considerations for Website Owners

While AI offers new avenues for brand awareness and user engagement, it will not replace traditional search traffic anytime soon. Website owners should remain focused on optimizing for Google Search, which still delivers the vast majority of traffic. However, those interested in AI traffic growth should prioritize platforms like ChatGPT for potential gains.

As AI referral tracking and conversion data evolve, continued monitoring will be essential to fully understand its role in digital marketing strategies.