ChatGPT referral traffic to publishers has nearly doubled this year
ChatGPT, the AI platform developed by OpenAI, has significantly increased the amount of traffic it is sending to publishers' websites this year. According to data from Similarweb, in April 2025, 83% of the traffic generated by ChatGPT was directed towards news and media sites, up from 64% in January of the same year.
Referral traffic from ChatGPT continues to grow steadily. In April 2025, ChatGPT directed 243.8 million visits to 250 news and media websites, marking a 98% increase from January 2025. David Carr, senior insights manager at Similarweb, provided these insights based on the data.
Changes in Referral Traffic
Some notable websites experienced a significant increase in referral traffic from ChatGPT in April 2025. For example, The BBC saw an 188.9% increase, driving approximately 118,000 visits, while Fox News and The Independent saw increases of 166.3% and 157.7%, respectively.
Conversely, some sites witnessed a decline in their share of referral traffic from ChatGPT. CNN's Spanish language referral traffic dropped by 55.3%, Mumsnet's by 50.26%, and HuffPost's by 47.7%.
Leading the pack in terms of visits from ChatGPT in the news and media category in April 2025 were The Guardian and Reuters, each receiving around 1.5 million visits. It's important to note that The Guardian has a licensing agreement with OpenAI, while Reuters does not.
Impact and Trends
Overall, ChatGPT's global web visits have seen a substantial increase, up by 182% year-over-year and 13% month-over-month in April. The platform has also witnessed growth in total external referrals, sending 293.5 million visits in April 2025, a 53.4% increase since January 2025.
Despite these positive trends, some publishing executives believe that referral traffic from ChatGPT remains relatively insignificant compared to other sources like Google. Referrals from AI platforms have seen a substantial increase, but the overall impact is still considered minimal by some industry insiders.
As AI technology continues to shape the digital landscape, it's crucial for publishers to adapt to these changes and explore new avenues for driving traffic and engaging audiences.
