BrightEdge Enterprise SEO platform released new data showing distinctive patterns across major AI search and chatbot platforms and also called attention to potential disruption from Apple if it breaks with Google as the default search engine in Safari.
Desktop AI Traffic Dominance
One of the key findings in the BrightEdge data is that traffic to websites from AI chatbots and search engines is highest from desktop users. The exception is Google Search which is reported to send more traffic from mobile devices over desktop.
The report notes that 94% of the traffic from ChatGPT originates from desktop apps with just 6% of referrals coming from mobile apps. BrightEdge speculates that the reason why there’s less mobile traffic is because ChatGPT’s mobile app shows an in-app preview, requiring a user to execute a second click to navigate to an external site. This creates a referral bottleneck that doesn’t exist on the desktop.
But that doesn’t explain why Perplexity, Bing, and Google Gemini also show similar levels of desktop traffic dominance. Could it be a contextual difference where users on desktop are using AI for business and mobile use is less casual? The fact that Google Search sends more mobile referral traffic than desktop could suggest a contextual reason for the disparity in mobile traffic from AI search and chatbots.
BrightEdge shared their insights:
“While Google maintains an overwhelming market share in overall search (89%) and an even stronger position on mobile (93%), its dominance is particularly crucial in mobile web search. BrightEdge data indicates that Apple phones alone account for 57% of Google’s mobile traffic to US and European brand websites. But with Safari being the default for around a billion users, any change to that default could reallocate countless search queries overnight.
Apple’s vendor-agnostic Apple Intelligence also suggests opportunities for seismic shifts in web search. While generative AI tools have surged in popularity through apps on IOS, mobile web search—where the majority of search still occurs—remains largely controlled by Google via Safari defaults. This makes Apple’s control of Safari the most valuable real estate in the mobile search landscape.”
Here are the traffic referral statistics provided by BrightEdge:
- Google Search: Only major AI search with mobile majority traffic referrals (53% mobile vs 44% desktop)
- ChatGPT: 94% desktop, just 6% mobile referrals
- Perplexity: 96.5% desktop, 3.4% mobile
- Bing: 94% desktop, 4% mobile
- Google Gemini: 91% desktop, 5% mobile
Apple May Play The Kingmaker?
With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) nearing, one of the changes that many will be alert to is any announcement relative to the company’s Safari browser which controls the default search settings on nearly a billion devices. A change in search provider in Safari could initiate dramatic changes to who the new winners and losers are in web search.
Perplexity asserts that the outcome of changes to Safari browser defaults may impact search marketing calculations for the following reasons:
“58% of Google’s mobile traffic to brand websites comes from iPhones
Safari remains the default browser for nearly a billion users
Apple has not yet embedded AI-powered search into its mobile web stack”
Takeaways
- Desktop Users Of AI Search Account For The Majority Of Referral Traffic
Most AI-generated search traffic from from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing, and Gemini comes from desktop usage, not mobile. - Google Search Is The Traffic Referral Outlier
Unlike other AI search tools, Google Search still delivers a majority of its traffic via mobile devices. - In-App Previews May Limit ChatGPT Mobile AI Referrals
ChatGPT’s mobile app requires an extra click to visit external sites, possibly explaining low mobile referral numbers. - Apple’s Position Is Pivotal To Search Marketing
Apple devices account for over half of Google’s mobile traffic to brand websites, giving Apple an outsized impact on mobile search traffic. - Safari Default And Greater Market Share
With Safari set as the default browser for nearly a billion users, Apple effectively controls the gate to mobile web search. - Perplexity Stands To Gain Market Share
If Apple switches Safari’s default search to Perplexity, the resulting shift in traffic could remake the competitive balance in search marketing. - Search Marketers Should Watch WWDC
Any change announced at Apple’s WWDC regarding Safari’s search engine could have large-scale impact on search marketing.
BrightEdge data shows that desktop usage is the dominant source of traffic referrals from AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing, and Gemini, with Google Search as the only major platform that sends more traffic via mobile.
This pattern could suggest a behavioral split between desktop users, who may be performing work-related or research-heavy tasks, and mobile users, who may be browsing more casually. BrightEdge also points to a bottleneck built into the ChatGPT app that creates a one-click barrier to mobile traffic referrals.
BrightEdge’s data further cites Apple’s control over Safari, which is installed on nearly a billion devices, as a potential disruptor due to a possible change in the default search engine away from Google. Such a shift could significantly alter mobile search traffic patterns.
Read more at BrightEdge
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