Google search traffic drops as users tend towards ChatGPT, DuckDuckGo: Here's why

Google faces a dominant shift in user behaviour as AI reshapes how users find information online.

The company now faces a dual challenge: increased competition from AI-powered chatbots, including ChatGPT, which, as reported by CNBC, surpasses 1 billion monthly active users.

Due to a surge in user preference, ChatGPT now ranks as the top free app on Apple’s iOS, while Anthropic’s Claude sits at eighth, just one spot behind Google’s own Gemini app.

For the search company, this transition involves a two-sided challenge. On the one hand, those who are looking for more intelligent responses have started relying on AI chatbots. On the other hand, an increasing number of people have begun to reject searches that rely on AI technologies. 

DuckDuckGo, which is a search engine focused on user privacy, has benefited from this opposition to AI by offering “no-AI” searches and extensions for browsers. The company sees its installation rates increasing by up to 40% per week, and up to 75% after Google's I/O conference in May.

Why are users leaving Google?

Google is struggling between AI users and AI haters. Users who prefer AI tend to use chatbots more often as they provide a more conversational and efficient way to find information without sifting through search results.

Non-AI users find Google’s aggressive push into AI Overviews and AI Modes intrusive.

The company has also acknowledged the tension with CEO Sundary Pichai, recently sharing that people are “rightfully” anxious about the technology’s unprecedented scale of change.

The publishers are also being affected by this change. Research indicates that about 68% of Google searches do not include even one click to an external site. 

The search engine still rules the 90% share of the search industry and has seen its stock price rise more than twice in the last year. But as people continue to opt for ChatGPT answers and DuckDuckGo privacy, the cracks in the Google empire can be overlooked no longer.