ChatGPT vs. Google: Analyzing User Stats and the Future of Search Behavior

I’ve been thinking about this question quite a bit lately: How does ChatGPT really compare to Google?

It’s something that’s been on my mind because like many in our industry, I’ve found myself using ChatGPT more and more. I’ve mentioned it in a few podcasts recently, but I can’t help but wonder how this change in my behaviour stacks up against the general populations online habits. Is this just something that’s significant within the SEO and tech circles, or is it genuinely affecting the wider online world?

My own traffic stats across a range of sites remain strong across the board. Sure, Google’s updates cause the usual fluctuations but overall, there’s no drastic change in user behaviour from what I can see. But what about the long-term trends? With all the hype surrounding AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, are we witnessing a massive shift in how people search for information? Or is it just us techie folks making a big deal out of something that’s still relatively small?

I decided to look into some stats to get a clearer picture.

Currently, we’re looking at around 200 million active ChatGPT users. These are people who’ve interacted with ChatGPT at least once in the past month. Sounds impressive but when you stack that up against Google’s user base, it’s a different story altogether.

Google boasts about 5 billion users. So, doing a bit of quick maths, for every one person using ChatGPT this month, there are 25 people who’ve used Google. That’s a significant difference. And if we look deeper into the numbers, the disparity grows even more striking.

When we look at ChatGPT’s paid subscribers—the ones using ChatGPT Plus and above—the figures hover between 4 million and 10 million, depending on which source you trust. Let’s take the higher end for argument’s sake, 10 million paid users. Compared to Google’s 5 billion, that’s one paid ChatGPT user for every 500 Google users.

What’s more, those using the free version of ChatGPT are limited in several ways. They don’t get access to the latest models and miss out on features like real-time browsing and advanced image or file processing. So, the premium experience—what many of us rely on for our work is enjoyed by a tiny fraction of the global user base.

I also looked at the daily interactions. Google processes about 23 billion searches every single day. ChatGPT on the other hand, sees around 10 million conversations a day. To put that into perspective there are 2,300 Google searches for every one ChatGPT conversation daily.

Breaking it down further, the average Google user performs about 135 searches a month. In contrast, the average ChatGPT user has just 1.5 conversations per month. Essentially, people are nearly 100 times more likely to use Google than ChatGPT.

These numbers really highlight how entrenched Google is in our daily lives. Despite all the hype around AI chatbots, the majority of people still default to traditional search engines for their queries.

So what does this mean for us in the SEO and content creation world?

Well for starters, it suggests that our primary focus should remain on Google. While it’s essential to stay ahead of the curve and be aware of emerging technologies the data shows that the vast majority of search behaviour hasn’t shifted significantly, so far.

I think we in the industry might be a little prone to overestimating the impact of tools like ChatGPT simply because they’re so integral to our work. They are incredible assets for content creation, data analysis, and streamlining various tasks. But for the average person on the streets, our ultimate audience, they’re still very much not on their radar.

That’s not to say things won’t change, technology evolves rapidly, and user behaviours move over time. But in the short to medium term, Google remains the dominant gateway to online browsing and information seeking.

So for now, it’s about balancing our approach. Embrace the new tools and opportunities that AI provides but don’t lose sight of where the majority of our audience is. Keep optimising for traditional search, continue producing valuable content, and stay tuned into the changing online landscape without getting swept away by the hype.

Of course I’m always open to being proven wrong. If you’ve come across different stats or have insights that challenge my findings, I’d love to hear from you. It’s a fascinating topic, and the more perspectives we have the better we can understand and navigate the shifts in our industry.