AI Search Statistics 2026: How Many People Really Use ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews Instead of Google

ChatGPT had 1.2 billion weekly active users by September 2026, Perplexity was estimated at 1.2 to 1.5 billion queries a month by mid-2026, and Google's AI Overviews appeared on somewhere between 43% and 48% of searches in spring 2026, depending on whose data you use. Those are the headline AI search statistics, each sourced and dated below, with notes on which figures are company-confirmed and which are third-party estimates.

Every figure here was checked against a live source page on 15 October 2026. Where sources disagree, the article says so and explains why, so you can pick the right number for your context rather than the most dramatic one.

How to read these AI search statistics

AI search numbers come from three very different places, and mixing them up is the most common mistake in round-ups on this topic.

• Company disclosures: figures a company announces about itself, such as OpenAI's weekly active users. These are the most authoritative on scale, though the company chooses the metric.
• Panel and clickstream data: firms such as Similarweb and Sensor Tower estimate traffic and app usage from measured samples. Useful for trends, but still estimates.
• Analyst estimates: where a company publishes nothing, analysts model a figure. Treat these as ranges, not facts.

Most of the figures below reached the web through secondary pages that report the original announcement or dataset. The secondary page is linked because that is where the figure was verified; where it names the original source, so does this article.

ChatGPT usage figures

Weekly active users: company-confirmed

According to TechnologyChecker.io, ChatGPT reached 1.2 billion weekly active users in September 2026, a figure Sam Altman announced at OpenAI DevDay on 29 September 2026. That was up from 900 million in February 2026 and 400 million in February 2025.

The February figure has its own trail. SQ Magazine reports that OpenAI announced ChatGPT had crossed 900 million weekly active users on 27 February 2026, as reported by TechCrunch, up 100 million from the 800 million figure in October 2025.

Put together, OpenAI's own disclosures give a clean series: 400 million (February 2025), 800 million (October 2025), 900 million (February 2026) and 1.2 billion (September 2026).

App monthly active users: third-party measurement

A separate figure measures the mobile app only. ToolixLab cites Sensor Tower data reported by Reuters showing the ChatGPT app crossed 1 billion global monthly active users in May 2026, the fastest any app has reached that milestone.

Do not set this beside the weekly figure as if they measured the same thing. One is OpenAI's count of weekly users across ChatGPT; the other is a third-party estimate of monthly app users. Both are valid, for different sentences.

Google AI Overviews and AI Mode

Share of searches showing an AI Overview

TechCrunch reported on 27 July 2026 that Google's AI Overviews appeared in 43% of searches, up from 15% a year earlier, according to Similarweb's 2026 Generative AI Landscape analysis, based on May data.

A different dataset gives a higher figure. The Stacc cites Advanced Web Ranking and Digital Applied data putting AI Overviews on 48% of all Google queries as of March 2026, up from 34.5% in December 2025 and 31% in February 2025.

Why AI Overview figures disagree so much

Published AI Overview rates vary widely, and the differences are mostly about method rather than error. The usual causes are:

• Which queries are sampled: a tracked keyword set chosen by an SEO tool behaves differently from real user searches measured by a traffic panel. Question-style and informational queries trigger AI Overviews far more often than brand or shopping searches.
• Country and device: rollout differs by market, and many studies track one country only.
• Date: the feature has expanded quickly, so a study from a few months earlier can look badly out of step.

For a general audience, the Similarweb figure describes searches as people actually make them. For an SEO audience talking about keyword visibility, the Advanced Web Ranking figure fits better. Either way, state which you used.

AI Mode visits

Google's separate conversational search mode is growing too. TechDogs reports Similarweb data, via TechCrunch, showing visits to Google AI Mode rose from 126 million in June 2025 to 279 million in May 2026.

Click-through changes when AI answers appear

The figure publishers care about most is what happens to clicks. The same Advanced Web Ranking and Digital Applied data cited by The Stacc found that when an AI Overview is present, organic click-through rate falls between 34% and 61%, depending on ranking position.

The range matters. Quoting only the top end overstates the effect for some positions, and quoting only the bottom end understates it for others. If you need a single line, "between 34% and 61% depending on position" is both accurate and quotable.

A wide range honestly reported is more useful than a precise number that only holds for one ranking position.

For site owners, the practical response is to become one of the sources an AI answer cites. The mechanics are covered in how Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews choose their sources.

Perplexity usage figures

Monthly queries: estimate

According to Index.dev, Perplexity is estimated to process 1.2 to 1.5 billion search queries a month by mid-2026, up from about 230 million a month in August 2024, roughly tripling in under a year.

Monthly users: no official figure

User numbers are much less certain. Nexalit Services notes that Perplexity does not publish official user numbers, so monthly active user estimates vary widely, ranging from about 30 to 45 million for the core product up to 100 million or more across all products combined, per Sacra's April 2026 analysis.

If you need a Perplexity figure, monthly queries are usually the safer number to quote, provided you call it an estimate.

Quick reference table

Where Helio SEO fits in

Helio SEO writes articles meant to be quoted by AI assistants as well as ranked by Google, which is the practical answer to the trends above. If you want to see whether AI tools currently mention your business, the free AI visibility check is a sensible first step. If you only came for the numbers, the table above is yours to use.

Common questions about AI search statistics

Is Google still bigger than ChatGPT in 2026?

Google and ChatGPT report different metrics, so a direct comparison is hard to make honestly. ChatGPT's 1.2 billion weekly active users in September 2026 is a large figure, but Google itself now shows AI Overviews on a large share of its searches, so much AI search activity still happens inside Google rather than instead of it.

Which AI Overview percentage should a journalist quote?

For a general readership, Similarweb's 43% of searches in May 2026, reported by TechCrunch, reflects searches as people make them. For articles about SEO and keyword rankings, the Advanced Web Ranking figure of 48% of queries in March 2026 suits better. Whichever AI Overview figure you choose, name the source and month alongside it.

Why are Perplexity user numbers so inconsistent?

Perplexity does not publish official user numbers, so every Perplexity user figure is an outside estimate. Analysts count different products and use different methods, which is why estimates run from about 30 million monthly users for the core product to over 100 million across all products. Monthly query estimates are usually a steadier figure to quote.