ChatGPT users spend more time on site than Google visitors

New Delhi: A new research report by AdLift examines the emerging role of ChatGPT as a web traffic source across six sectors, comparing its performance with Google Organic search and Perplexity. 

Across all six sectors, ChatGPT sessions account for below 4% of Google’s organic volume, with an overall ratio of about 2.18%. Despite its smaller share, engagement is significantly higher. 

Five sectors show an average uplift of roughly 36% in engagement time compared to Google. “People who click from ChatGPT are in solve mode. Give them fast answers and a clear next step,” the report suggests.

The analysis covers sectors including financial services (debt relief), fintech payments, B2B SaaS automation, ecommerce gifting, direct-to-consumer petcare, and marketplace event and space rentals. 

One of the primary metrics assessed was average engagement time per session. The report found that in five of the six sectors, users arriving via ChatGPT spent more time on the site than those who came through Google Organic. By contrast, Perplexity referrals did not show a consistent uplift in engagement and frequently led to shorter sessions.

In financial services (debt relief), for instance, ChatGPT visitors engaged for an average of 67 seconds compared with 59 seconds for Google. The report recommended that companies in this sector focus on producing “answer-first explainers for high-anxiety questions,” supplemented by eligibility checklists, timeline tables, and calls to action such as “Talk to an expert.”

B2B SaaS recorded engagement times that were closely matched, at 33 seconds for ChatGPT users and 37 seconds for Google visitors. Here, AdLift suggested presenting a “how-it-works flow above the fold” and incorporating demos or interactive tours to enhance user clarity.

In fintech payments, the gap was far more pronounced. ChatGPT referrals registered an average of 108 seconds per session, compared with 39 seconds from Google. The research advised the use of “fee and settlement tables,” setup checklists, and simple calculators offering cost or time estimates to sustain engagement.

For ecommerce gifting, ChatGPT users spent an average of 60 seconds on site compared with only 15 seconds from Google. Recommendations included developing occasion-based content hubs, clearly displaying delivery timelines, and using comparative formats such as bestseller, budget, and premium cards to aid decision-making.

In direct-to-consumer petcare, ChatGPT visitors stayed an average of one minute and 19 seconds, versus 56 seconds for Google visitors. The report pointed to the value of publishing vet-reviewed guides and checklists that transparently link to product benefits.

The only sector where ChatGPT users recorded lower engagement was event and space rentals, with visitors spending 50 seconds on site compared with one minute and 23 seconds from Google. AdLift attributed this to a mismatch between user intent and the landing page experience, recommending “AI-friendly entry pages” that directly address user tasks and offer clear booking and availability options.

Overall, the report describes ChatGPT referrals as “an incremental channel, not a replacement” for Google, noting that these visitors often demonstrate strong intent. As the researchers put it: “People who click from ChatGPT are in solve mode. Give them fast answers and a clear next step.”

They also observed a distinct behavioural pattern in which ChatGPT users conduct what the report terms a “trust scan” after leaving AI-generated answers—checking bylines, sources, and last updated timestamps to assess content reliability.

By contrast, visitors from Perplexity were characterised as quick verifiers: “The snippet often answers enough. Users click to verify one fact, then leave.”

The study also outlines effective page structures for attracting and converting AI-driven visitors. Key elements include a problem restatement above the fold, an answer-first summary, a single call to action, and visible proof elements such as author attribution and source links. Supporting content below the fold should feature comparison tables, FAQs using conversational phrasing, decision flows, and minimal intrusive elements such as pop-ups.

In its conclusion, the report notes that “ChatGPT traffic may be small today, but it is a strong intent signal. If your pages open with the answer, show proof, and make the next step obvious, you will convert that attention into action.” The authors stress the need for organisations to identify which queries to target and to monitor their visibility within AI-generated responses. Tools such as Tesseract and AdLift’s AI SEO system were cited as means to track and optimise this emerging area.