AI-powered search is growing far faster than initially anticipated—upending traditional search dynamics and reshaping user behaviour.
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A compelling signal: ChatGPT, which started as a conversational AI, is now referring more traffic to websites than Bing. In a span of just five months, referrals surged from under 10,000 to over 30,000 unique domains daily—representing a 145× growth since May 2023—and permanently surpassing Bing as a traffic source.
Backing this trend with hard data, market forecasts reveal that AI search is poised for explosive expansion. Analysts estimate the AI search market will grow at a 35% compound annual growth rate between 2023 and 2028. Key segments fuelling the boom include voice-enabled searches, AI agents, and highly personalized search experiences.
Standalone AI search platforms are also achieving breakout success. Perplexity AI, for instance, processed a staggering 780 million queries in May 2025, reflecting more than 20% month-over-month growth, pushing daily query volumes to around 30 million.
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These shifts underline a broader transformation: AI doesn’t just augment search—it’s rapidly redefining it. From enterprise tools to consumer interfaces, AI search is becoming the new standard.
