AI-generated referrals to top websites are skyrocketing. While Google Search remains the king of web traffic, the latest data reveals that AI platforms are beginning to make a significant impact across categories like news, e-commerce, and tech.
AI Referrals Hit 1.13 Billion in June 2025
According to Similarweb, AI platforms generated over 1.13 billion referrals to the world’s top 1,000 websites in June 2025—a 357% increase compared to June 2024. This rapid growth highlights the growing role of AI in reshaping how users discover content.
Despite this surge, Google Search still holds the lion’s share, clocking in at a massive 191 billion referrals for the same period.
News and Media Brace for “Google Zero”
News publishers are increasingly anxious about declining traffic from search engines, especially as AI Overviews begin to replace traditional link-based discovery.
A recent Pew Research Center study found that when AI summaries appeared in Google searches, users clicked links only 8% of the time. When AI Overviews were absent, the click rate nearly doubled to 15%.
Notably, Similarweb reported that AI referrals to news and media sites jumped 770% YoY. However, traffic gains aren’t evenly distributed—some outlets like The New York Times, which blocks AI crawlers due to its ongoing legal battle with OpenAI, see little benefit.
Top News Sites by AI Referrals (June 2025)
- Yahoo: 2.3M
- Yahoo Japan: 1.9M
- Reuters: 1.8M
- The Guardian: 1.7M
- India Times: 1.2M
- Business Insider: 1.0M
ChatGPT Dominates the AI Referral Market
Among all AI platforms—ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, DeepSeek, and Liner—ChatGPT leads by far, accounting for over 80% of all AI referrals to top sites.
This suggests that ChatGPT isn’t just a productivity tool but is increasingly influencing user navigation and content discovery across the web.
E-Commerce Winners: Amazon, Etsy, and eBay
In the e-commerce space, AI referrals are already pushing significant traffic:
- Amazon: 4.5M referrals
- Etsy: 2.0M referrals
- eBay: 1.8M referrals
This indicates a growing trend of users shopping through AI-assisted browsing experiences, recommendations, or search.
Top Tech & Social Media Sites by AI Traffic
In the tech, search, and social media category, Google.com remains dominant, but AI is distributing traffic to many familiar names:
- Google: 53.1M
- Reddit: 11.1M
- Facebook: 11.0M
- GitHub: 7.4M
- Microsoft: 5.1M
- Canva: 5.0M
- Instagram: 4.7M
- LinkedIn: 4.4M
- Bing: 3.1M
- Pinterest: 2.5M
Other Noteworthy Domains by Category
Here are the top AI referral recipients by category outside of news, e-commerce, and tech:
- Video: YouTube – 31.2M
- Science/Education: ResearchGate – 3.6M
- Real Estate: Zillow – 776.2K
- Government: Europa.eu – 992.9K
- Reference: Wikipedia – 10.8M
- Health: NIH.gov – 5.2M
- Finance: Investing.com – 1.2M
- Retail: Home Depot – 1.2M
- Travel: Kayak – 456.5K
- Fashion: Zara – 325.6K
The Big Picture
While Google Search is still the undisputed driver of web traffic, AI platforms—particularly ChatGPT—are beginning to carve out a substantial slice of the pie. If growth continues at this pace, publishers and platforms alike will need to rethink their SEO, content strategies, and visibility within AI ecosystems.
The countdown to “Google Zero” might just be starting.
Sources ( Techcrunch )
