In short , SimilarWeb published a study in late June 2026 on ChatGPT-influenced traffic. The verdict: these visitors view 12 pages vs 6.5 and stay 11.8 minutes vs 5.6. And a brand recommended by AI is 2.5× more likely to get a visit within 7 days than a competitor. Visibility in AI answers is no longer a gimmick, it's a qualified acquisition channel.
On June 24, 2026, SimilarWeb published a study measuring what users do after receiving a brand recommendation in ChatGPT, covered by Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal. The conclusion cuts against the usual "zero-click" narrative: when AI sends a visitor, that visitor is worth more than average.
The numbers that matter
The study covers July to December 2025, based on a US desktop activity panel. SimilarWeb compared, across competitor pairs, the behavior of users exposed to a ChatGPT recommendation against everyone else, excluding visitors who had already viewed the brand in the prior four weeks or named it in their prompt.
The sector breakdown is telling. On the 7-day conversion window, American Express comes in at 7.2% vs 3.1% for Capital One; Skyscanner at 9.5% vs 7.6% for Kayak; Sephora at 7.9% vs 3.3% for Ulta. Depending on which way the recommendation runs, the gap widens further, the AI-highlighted brand captures most of the attention.
Why these visitors are better
The logic is intuitive. Someone asking ChatGPT "which travel card should I get?" is already mid-decision. When the model names a brand, the user lands on the site with clear intent, hence the 12 pages and nearly 12 minutes. This isn't curiosity traffic, it's pre-purchase traffic.
This signal extends what we've been tracking for months: zero-click search has passed 68% and AI Overviews now recommend competitors in a majority of queries. The implication is clear: raw click volume drops, but the quality of those who come through AI rises. Better 100 visitors sent by ChatGPT than 300 anonymous clicks that bounce.
What it changes for SMBs
If you still steer your SEO purely by session volume, you're watching the wrong metric. Three concrete actions follow from this study:
- Measure AI traffic separately. In your analytics, isolate visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, gemini.google.com and copilot.microsoft.com. Compare their engagement and conversion against your other channels, you'll likely see the same gap SimilarWeb found.
- Become citable, not just rankable. AI engines recommend brands tied to clear answers, named data and verifiable expertise. That's the heart of the non-commodity content AI cites: an angle, sourced figures, structured data.
- Cover the whole ecosystem, not just ChatGPT. Market share is fragmenting across ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Being recommended on one engine is no longer enough.
The study's limits
Let's stay honest about what the data doesn't say. SimilarWeb is explicit: this is a correlation, not causation, AI didn't necessarily "cause" longer visits, it may simply attract already-more-engaged profiles. The analysis covers US desktop only; mobile and non-US markets aren't measured. And the panel focuses on finance, travel and beauty, your numbers will depend on your sector. This isn't an ROI promise, it's a trend signal to validate against your own data.
Our take
At Cicéro, we keep saying: stop counting clicks, start counting citations. In our client audits, we see it firsthand: traffic from AI engines bounces less and converts better than average. This study puts a number on it, an AI-recommended visitor is, by engagement, worth nearly twice an average one. Classic SEO makes you findable; GEO makes you recommendable. In 2026, neither is optional anymore, they're the same job.
Published June 25, 2026. Last updated June 25, 2026 by Alexis Dollé.
Related reading
- Zero-click search passes 68%: how to rethink your SEO
- AI Overviews recommend your competitors in 69% of cases
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude: AI market share is fragmenting
Sources
- → Search Engine Land, "ChatGPT recommendations drive more brand website visits: Study" (June 24, 2026)
- → Search Engine Journal, "AI-Recommended Brands Saw 2.5x More Site Visits: Similarweb"
- → SimilarWeb, GenAI traffic data and methodology (US desktop panel, July to December 2025)
Frequently asked questions
Are visitors coming from ChatGPT more engaged?
Yes. Per the June 2026 SimilarWeb study, visitors influenced by a ChatGPT recommendation view an average of 12 pages and stay 11.8 minutes, versus 6.5 pages and 5.6 minutes for others. It's a correlation, not direct causation.
What is SimilarWeb's 2.5× factor?
A brand recommended in ChatGPT was 2.5 times more likely to receive a site visit within 7 days than a direct competitor that wasn't recommended, over July to December 2025 (US desktop panel).
How do you get recommended by ChatGPT and AI engines?
By producing citable content: direct answers, named and sourced data, niche expertise, structured data (schema.org) and E-E-A-T signals. This is the focus of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), the extension of SEO for generative engines.
Growth and SEO content strategist, I founded Cicéro to help businesses build lasting organic visibility, on Google and in AI-generated answers alike. Every piece of content we produce is designed to convert, not just to exist.
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