ChatGPT recommendations drive more brand website visits: Study

Users who saw a marque recommended by ChatGPT were overmuch much apt to sojourn that brand’s website wrong a week, according to Similarweb.

What happened. Users were 2.5 times much likely, connected average, to sojourn an AI-recommended marque than a nonstop competitor, based connected Similarweb’s study of U.S. desktop behaviour crossed finance, travel, and beauty.

• Similarweb tracked users who asked ChatGPT industry-relevant questions, received a circumstantial marque recommendation, and past visited either that brand’s website aliases a competitor’s tract wrong 7 days.
• The study excluded users who had visited the brand’s tract successful the anterior 4 weeks aliases named the marque successful their prompt.

Recommendations shifted traffic. The shape appeared crossed each 3 industries:

• Finance: After an American Express recommendation, 7.2% of users visited American Express, compared pinch 3.1% who visited Capital One. After a Capital One recommendation, 14.2% visited Capital One, compared pinch 3.8% who visited American Express.
• Travel: After a Skyscanner recommendation, 9.5% visited Skyscanner, compared pinch 7.6% who visited Kayak. After a Kayak recommendation, 12% visited Kayak, compared pinch 3.4% who visited Skyscanner.
• Beauty: After a Sephora recommendation, 7.9% visited Sephora, compared pinch 3.3% who visited Ulta. After an Ulta recommendation, 7.6% visited Ulta, compared pinch 4.6% who visited Sephora.

AI request showed up successful search. Most AI-influenced visits didn’t look arsenic AI referral traffic. ChatGPT whitethorn power marque choice, but the later sojourn often appears successful analytics arsenic hunt traffic.

• 55.9% of AI-influenced visits came done search, compared pinch 40.4% of non-AI-influenced visits, Similarweb found.
• Direct postulation accounted for 19.9% of AI-influenced visits, compared pinch 38.8% of modular visits.

Recommended users stayed longer. AI-influenced visitors besides engaged much profoundly erstwhile they reached a brand’s site. They viewed 12 pages and spent 11.8 minutes connected site, connected average, compared pinch 6.5 pages and 5.6 minutes for non-AI-influenced visitors. Those users apt arrived aft narrowing their options during the AI conversation, Similarweb said.

Why we care. AI visibility tin thrust visits moreover erstwhile referral reports miss the root of influence. You request to cognize whether ChatGPT is creating request for your marque aliases sending it to a competitor.

About the data. Similarweb utilized its opted-in U.S. desktop web sheet to way personification journeys from July done December 2025. The study focused connected finance, travel, and beauty marque pairs pinch competitory overlap.

The report. The Downstream Impact of AI Visibility (registration required)