In September, global monthly visits to AI reached 7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 76%, with traffic approaching that of social networks.

Generative AI is evolving from a novel tool into the core layer of internet infrastructure.

Recently, according to data released by Similarweb, global monthly visits to AI services reached around 7 billion in September 2025, a year-on-year growth of 76%, with traffic volumes now comparable to mainstream social networks.

This growth is not only apparent on the web. Mobile expansion is even more rapid, with AI app session volumes growing fivefold in the past year and app downloads surging by 778%. ChatGPT remains the traffic leader, with around 5.9 billion visits in September, ranking among the world's top five websites by volume.

User demographics are also shifting. Although users aged 18 to 34 still dominate, the fastest growing group is aged 45 and above, now accounting for nearly 30% of total visits. This indicates that AI technology is breaking through early adopter circles and penetrating a much broader population.

Data also shows that AI chatbots have not yet replaced traditional search engines. Among 462 million ChatGPT visitors, 95% also use Google, indicating that users switch between conversational AI and search engines depending on the task.

ChatGPT accounts for 80% of global AI traffic

ChatGPT's market dominance remains solid. OpenAI's platform has grown from about 19 million monthly visits in 2022 to around 5.9 billion in September 2025, making it one of the world's top five websites by visit volume, on par with Instagram's 6.5 billion monthly visits.

Despite challenges from competitors such as Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity, ChatGPT still accounts for nearly 80% of global generative AI visits. This overwhelming advantage reflects the barrier effect of early platforms in shaping user habits.

AI and search engines are used in parallel

According to Similarweb, AI chatbots have not replaced traditional search engines, but instead formed a pattern of parallel use.

Among ChatGPT's 462 million visitors, 95% also use Google, with overlapping users numbering 441 million. This suggests users switch between conversational AI and search engines according to specific tasks.

In terms of user stickiness, ChatGPT significantly leads the pack. In the US market, the ChatGPT mobile app has 41.3 million monthly active users, 33% of whom open the app daily.

By comparison, Perplexity (3.4 million monthly active users) and Microsoft Copilot (3.1 million monthly active users) have daily active rates of only 5% to 17%, suggesting more sporadic usage habits.

Middle-aged and elderly users are the fastest-growing demographic

The age structure of users is changing significantly. Although users aged 18 to 34 remain the largest group with 1.9 billion users (53%), the fastest growing user segment is aged 45 and above, now accounting for nearly 30% of all visitors.

This trend shows that generative AI is moving beyond the early adopter stage and spreading to the mainstream. The accelerated influx of middle-aged and elderly users means the ease-of-use and practical value of AI tools are gaining broader recognition.

AI functionality integration remains experimental

Integration of AI technology into existing platforms is expanding. Google’s ‘AI mode’ has become the fastest generative AI feature to reach 100 million visits in the US market, thanks to its large user base.

However, data shows such integrated features are still in the experimental stage. During a two-month observation period, over half the users interacted with this feature only once in a single day, indicating stable usage habits have yet to form.

This phenomenon highlights that embedding AI capabilities deeply into existing product ecosystems still requires time to cultivate user behavior.

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