Topline
OpenAI’s ChatGPT, still the leading AI chatbot, appeared to plateau earlier this year as rivals like Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini developed strong user bases—but despite a spate of troubling security issues, ChatGPT’s traffic has come roaring back, increasing for three straight months to its highest level since last fall.
ChatGPT’s web traffic has resurged in recent months. (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
ChatGPT amassed about 5.9 billion web visits worldwide in September, according to a projection by digital intelligence firm Similarweb, a big uptick from August, when it logged 5.6 billion web visits.
ChatGPT’s September total is the AI chatbot’s highest number of web visits in a single month since October 2025, when it was visited an estimated 6.2 billion times, according to Similarweb data.
But since last October, ChatGPT’s worldwide web visits languished, dipping to a year-to-date low of 5.4 billion web visits by February, a mark it reached again in June, before finally appearing to turn the corner.
Since ChatGPT’s upward trajectory began over the summer, the leading chatbot has regained a small bit of its market share among competitor AI chatbots, though it still lags far behind the outright dominance it had before rivals like Gemini and Claude gained prominence.
In August, ChatGPT comprised about 55.5% of web traffic to all leading chatbots, according to Similarweb’s data, up from a low of 52.7% in July—though it is a far cry from this time last year, when ChatGPT made up about three-fourths of web traffic to leading chatbots.
ChatGPT’s web traffic has ticked upward in recent months.
Similarweb
surprising fact
ChatGPT grew the fastest among the top 10 most-visited websites in the world last month, according to Similarweb’s data, posting a 3.45% increase in worldwide web visits. Most of the other top websites, which include Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, held relatively steady, while X and Reddit recorded the largest dips: 2.99% and 3.22%, respectively.
ChatGPT Surges Despite Security Fears
ChatGPT’s web traffic has risen despite a series of controversial incidents and growing concerns about safety risks posed by AI. Chief among these is the attack by OpenAI agents on AI startup Hugging Face in July, which OpenAI called an “unprecedented cyber incident, involving state-of-the-art cyber capabilities.” CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X last week that is still the “most severe event we’ve seen,” but security incidents have plagued the company since—including reports that rogue OpenAI technology meddled with U.S. government websites and Australia’s health care website. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported OpenAI had ignored employees who warned its models were not being appropriately monitored during testing, months before the Hugging Face incident. On Monday, OpenAI said it would not release its new GPT-6.1 Astra model, citing security concerns. AI safety has also faced broader scrutiny in recent weeks as numerous former employees have warned about security risks—including a stark, viral claim by a former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher that AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade.” And yet, despite a stream of bad press, ChatGPT’s web visits have turned the corner. Gil Luria, managing director and head of technology research at investment firm D. A. Davidson, told Forbes consumers are still using ChatGPT instead of rivals because AI companies are “thoroughly tarnished,” particularly OpenAI and Anthropic, whom he said make up a “two-horse race” as AI leaders. “They’ve both been associated with bad outcomes and bad behavior,” and there is a “lot of pushback against AI,” but consumers are “looking past that because the models are so powerful and potent.”
Why Else Might ChatGPT Be Increasing In Web Traffic?
ChatGPT, more than its rivals, appears to benefit from user loyalty, Similarweb data indicates. The firm said ChatGPT had the highest percentage of exclusive users among leading chatbots in August, with 64.1% of its visitors only using that chatbot. Gemini had about 54% exclusive users in August, Similarweb said, while Claude exhibited much lower user loyalty, with only 26.4% of users using that chatbot alone. Luria told Forbes ChatGPT’s initial dominance in the AI market has helped it maintain a lead over competitors by establishing a loyal consumer base early. “That has helped ChatGPT that they were early, got a big install base of consumers that are still happy using ChatGPT, and therefore are habituated to use that,” Luria said.
how are rivals faring?
ChatGPT still has a major advantage over rival chatbots. Its closest competitor, Gemini, recorded a projected 2.6 billion web visits worldwide in September, less than half of the 5.9 billion for ChatGPT. Gemini’s web visits have declined since June, when it recorded 2.9 billion web visits, though David Carr, editor of insights news and research at Similarweb, noted this may be because Google has programmed some of Gemini’s AI features into regular Google searches. Claude, meanwhile, logged 996.4 million web visits in September, another month-to-month increase as the chatbot has risen dramatically in traffic this year, though it still remains far behind ChatGPT.
ChatGPT still maintains a solid lead over rivals Gemini and Claude.
Similarweb
what to watch for
Whether OpenAI can maintain, or increase, dominance over the AI chatbot market with ChatGPT. Luria told Forbes he expects ChatGPT and Claude will “continue to dominate that market,” but noted “the market is going to start fragmenting, and there’s going to be a lot of usage of models that are not from OpenAI and Anthropic.” OpenAI and Anthropic are also both planning blockbuster initial public offerings, though OpenAI has said it will hold off on going public while it deals with growing AI safety concerns.
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