Boost Website Traffic: ChatGPT Recommendations Study

Understanding the Impact of AI Recommendations on Brand Visits

Recent studies have shown a significant correlation between AI-recommended brands and website visits, highlighting the growing influence of artificial intelligence in shaping consumer behavior. According to Similarweb's research conducted in 2026, users who received brand recommendations from ChatGPT were 2.5 times more likely to visit the recommended brand's website compared to a direct competitor.

How Recommendations Drive Traffic

• Similarweb's analysis focused on users who interacted with ChatGPT by posing industry-specific queries, received brand recommendations, and subsequently visited the recommended brand's website or a competitor's site within a week.
• Excluding users who had prior interaction with the brand or mentioned it in their prompts, the study aimed to capture the direct impact of AI-driven suggestions on user behavior.

The Industry Impact

• Finance: Following an AI-driven recommendation for American Express, 7.2% of users visited the brand, compared to 3.1% for Capital One. Conversely, when recommended Capital One, 14.2% visited Capital One, with only 3.8% visiting American Express.
• Travel: Recommendations for Skyscanner led to a 9.5% visit rate, higher than the 7.6% for Kayak. Similarly, after a Kayak recommendation, 12% visited Kayak, while 3.4% chose Skyscanner.
• Beauty: Users showed a preference for Sephora after a recommendation, with 7.9% visiting the brand over Ulta. A recommendation for Ulta resulted in a visit rate of 7.6%, compared to 4.6% for Sephora.

The Influence of AI in Search and User Engagement

AI Demand & Search Traffic: Despite AI-driven visits channeling significant traffic, notably 55.9% from organic search, standard referral traffic accounted for 40.4%. This indicates that AI recommendations might lead to indirect website visits categorized as search traffic.

• AI-influenced visitors spent more time on recommended websites, viewing an average of 12 pages and spending 11.8 minutes compared to 6.5 pages and 5.6 minutes for non-AI-driven visitors. This suggests that AI interaction helped users make informed decisions, leading to deeper engagement.

Implications for Brands

Why AI Visibility Matters: Understanding the impact of AI recommendations is crucial for brands to comprehend consumer behavior patterns and differentiate between direct referrals and AI-driven visits. Brands need to be aware of how AI tools like ChatGPT influence brand visibility and user decision-making processes.

Data Insights: Similarweb's study, based on U.S. desktop user data from mid-2025, provides valuable insights into the downstream effects of AI visibility in the finance, travel, and beauty sectors. For a detailed report, visit The Downstream Impact of AI Visibility (registration required).

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