OpenAI's Adam Fry says ChatGPT's search-like queries are now about one fifth of Google's volume, and weekly users grew from 1 billion to 1.2 billion in two months. The measure is broad, so read it with care.
Table of Contents(5 sections)
Key takeaways
- Adam Fry, ChatGPT consumer product lead at OpenAI, said in an interview with Alex Kantrowitz that ChatGPT's "volume of search-like queries is now roughly one-fifth the volume of queries of Google."
- He also said ChatGPT went "from one billion to 1.2 in just the last two months," which Glenn Gabe reads as 1.2 billion weekly users.
- The definition is broad: "Every time you ask a question and go search the web, that's a search."
- Search Engine Roundtable reported it on November 4, 2026 and called the claim "surprising," since Google says its own search volume is at an all-time high.
Read the number with care
This is OpenAI's own figure, using OpenAI's own definition of a search. It was not explained how the volume was measured or compared with Google's data. Treat it as a direction, not an exact share.
Still, the direction matters. Fry said people increasingly ask ChatGPT about people, places and things that need current information, and that finance and health questions trigger web searches.
What it means for businesses
If even part of this is right, a large share of buying research now happens inside AI answers. Those answers quote pages that:
- answer the question directly, near the top
- use schema markup so the AI knows who you are
- keep business details the same everywhere online
- are easy for AI crawlers to load and read
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What to do
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Sources
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Search Is About 20% of Google — Big Technology, interview with Adam Fry.
- OpenAI Says ChatGPT Is At 20% Of Google Search Volume — Search Engine Roundtable, November 4, 2026.
- Glenn Gabe on X.
Last verified: November 4, 2026.
Mubashar leads SearchPrex’s founder-led SEO work for law firms, local businesses and ecommerce brands. He combines technical audits, Search Console data and local market research to build practical search strategies, with more than five years of hands-on experience across 20+ clients.
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