ChatGPT’s audience is no longer just large by AI standards. In September 2024, OpenAI’s chatbot crossed a traffic threshold that puts it in the same conversation as some of the web’s biggest destinations, while also moving ahead of Microsoft’s Bing for the first time in visitor numbers.
A new traffic milestone for ChatGPT
According to estimates from Similarweb, ChatGPT’s website received more than 3.1 billion visits worldwide last month. That was a 112 percent year-over-year increase and an 18.7 percent increase from August.
The September figure matters because it shows growth on two fronts at once. ChatGPT is not only expanding from its earlier base, but also accelerating month to month after the slump that followed its initial boom in 2023.
The comparison with Bing is especially notable. Microsoft’s Bing, which is increasingly presenting itself as an AI application, recorded 1.8 billion visits in September. ChatGPT also outpaced other AI chatbots named in the source, including Claude.ai, Perplexity.ai, and Character.ai.
In the United States, the shift was narrower but still significant. ChatGPT recorded 442.9 million visits, compared with Bing’s 404.3 million visits in September. That made September 2024 the first month in which ChatGPT passed Bing in United States traffic.
Why the ranking changes the context
With over 3 billion monthly page views, ChatGPT now ranks as the eleventh most visited website globally. It remains far behind Google, which had 82 billion visits, and YouTube, which had 28 billion visits.
Even so, ChatGPT’s position is striking because it has already moved beyond Amazon.com’s 2.6 billion visits, excluding international domains. That comparison does not make ChatGPT larger than the entire Amazon business online, but it does show how quickly a conversational AI product has become a daily web destination.
The source numbers point to a simple conclusion: ChatGPT is being used at a scale that is no longer limited to technology enthusiasts or early adopters. The service is now part of mainstream internet traffic patterns, and its growth is being measured alongside search engines, video platforms, and major commerce sites.
Several comparisons help frame the moment:
- ChatGPT reached more than 3.1 billion worldwide website visits in September 2024.
- Bing had 1.8 billion visits in September.
- Google remained far ahead with 82 billion visits.
- YouTube recorded 28 billion visits.
- Amazon.com reached 2.6 billion visits, excluding international domains.
Mobile growth strengthens the pattern
The web traffic numbers are only part of the story. ChatGPT also saw strong growth through its mobile app, according to the source.
Monthly active users on iOS and Android rose by 109% year-over-year in the US and 200.7% in the UK. Worldwide, app usage growth based on Android data reached 249%.
That mobile momentum matters because it suggests ChatGPT is becoming useful beyond desktop sessions. People are not only visiting the website; they are also installing and using the app on phones. For a product that can answer questions, generate text, assist with images, and support search-like tasks, mobile usage expands the number of moments in which it can be used.
The source does not break down exactly which features drove mobile activity. Still, the app growth sits alongside the broader traffic increase and reinforces the same direction: ChatGPT usage is rising across both web and mobile channels.
Free access may be helping growth
The source points to OpenAI’s expansion of its free tier as a likely driver of the new growth. OpenAI now offers access to its best models and limited image generation capabilities at no cost.
Even the new, computationally expensive "reasoning" model o1-mini is available in the free version. That makes the free product more capable, which can bring more people into regular use without requiring an immediate paid subscription.
This strategy has a tradeoff. The source notes that it increases operating costs and puts pressure on margins. More free usage can help ChatGPT grow quickly, but it also means OpenAI needs a convincing path from free users to paying customers.
One possible route mentioned in the source is offering fundamentally better models only in the paid version. That would preserve a broad free tier while giving heavy users a clearer reason to upgrade.
Search is still an unfinished question
ChatGPT’s traffic gains are happening before OpenAI’s search ambitions are fully developed. The company plans to expand ChatGPT’s capabilities as a search engine in the future, and a prototype of SearchGPT is already undergoing user testing.
That detail makes the Bing comparison more important. ChatGPT has already passed Bing in visitor numbers before its search product has reached its final form. If OpenAI expands search features successfully, ChatGPT could become an even more direct part of how users find information online.
For now, the clearest takeaway is the scale of the shift. ChatGPT is growing on the web, growing on mobile, and competing for attention with services that have long defined major internet traffic. Its next challenge is not only attracting users, but turning that usage into a sustainable business as the cost of free access rises.