{"id":205355,"date":"2025-06-22T14:50:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T14:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/205355\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T14:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T14:50:19","slug":"chatgpt-is-crushing-the-ai-referral-game-but-chinas-deepseek-has-shut-it-out-in-one-bold-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/205355\/","title":{"rendered":"ChatGPT is crushing the AI referral game, but China&#8217;s DeepSeek has shut it out in one bold move"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>ChatGPT now leads AI referral traffic worldwide, leaving Google\u2019s Gemini far behind in usage<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>DeepSeek\u2019s domination in China reveals how tight control can forge domestic AI superpowers fast<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>StatCounter confirms ChatGPT is now the default gateway to websites in most global markets<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>New research claims ChatGPT is dominating AI <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/chatbot\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/chatbot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chatbot<\/a> referral traffic globally, with a commanding 79.8% share.<\/p>\n<p>Figures from Statcounter says <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/openai\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/openai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OpenAI<\/a>&#8216;s platform leads in all G20 nations except China, where Deepseek has emerged as the unexpected frontrunner.<\/p>\n<p>Despite ChatGPT\u2019s widespread influence, it has struggled to make inroads into China\u2019s tightly regulated digital ecosystem, which now stands as a rare blind spot in its global push.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>DeepSeek rules China &#8211; while ChatGPT takes the rest of the world<\/p>\n<p>ChatGPT&#8217;s global influence is evident in its significant lead over competitors like Perplexity (11.8%), <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/microsoft\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/microsoft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft<\/a> Copilot (5.2%), and Google Gemini (2%).<\/p>\n<p>This dominance suggests users are increasingly turning to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/best-ai-chatbot-for-business\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/best-ai-chatbot-for-business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AI chatbots<\/a> not just for answers, but as gateways to the wider web, effectively reshaping the traffic model long dominated by traditional search engines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are already moving into a new era from <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/seo\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/seo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SEO<\/a> (Search Engine Optimization) to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO),\u201d said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of Statcounter.<\/p>\n<p>This shift could pose a substantial threat to traditional search models, particularly for Google, whose AI-based search tools lag in referrals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!<\/p>\n<p>While ChatGPT continues to function as a leading driver of traffic and arguably the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/best-seo-tool\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/best-seo-tool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">best SEO tool<\/a> in most of the world, its inability to penetrate China reveals a distinct limitation.<\/p>\n<p>There, Deepseek holds a staggering 89.3% market share. Although globally it commands only 0.8% of referrals, Deepseek has effectively capitalized on its domestic environment to exclude foreign competitors.<\/p>\n<p>When it launched, Deepseek garnered <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/artificial-intelligence\/deepseek-is-the-new-ai-chatbot-that-has-the-world-talking-i-pitted-it-against-chatgpt-to-see-which-is-best\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/artificial-intelligence\/deepseek-is-the-new-ai-chatbot-that-has-the-world-talking-i-pitted-it-against-chatgpt-to-see-which-is-best\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">significant attention<\/a>, becoming the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/deepseek-became-the-worlds-most-popular-ai-term-for-24-hours-when-it-caused-the-biggest-drop-ever-in-stock-markets\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/deepseek-became-the-worlds-most-popular-ai-term-for-24-hours-when-it-caused-the-biggest-drop-ever-in-stock-markets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">world\u2019s most popular AI term<\/a> for a day.<\/p>\n<p>It surpassed ChatGPT by becoming the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/artificial-intelligence\/is-deepseek-already-down-chatgpt-rival-and-app-store-king-struggling-to-cope-with-demand\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/artificial-intelligence\/is-deepseek-already-down-chatgpt-rival-and-app-store-king-struggling-to-cope-with-demand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most downloaded free app in the US and UK<\/a> and recorded 12 million downloads in 2 days, even <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/security\/only-two-weeks-in-and-ai-phenomenon-deepseek-is-officially-growing-faster-than-chatgpt\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/security\/only-two-weeks-in-and-ai-phenomenon-deepseek-is-officially-growing-faster-than-chatgpt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">faster than OpenAI<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In China, it is an indigenous alternative to OpenAI&#8217;s tools, partly due to its early alignment with government AI policy, and was <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/vpn\/vpn-privacy-security\/deepseeks-is-under-fire-is-there-anywhere-left-to-hide-for-the-chinese-chatbot\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/vpn\/vpn-privacy-security\/deepseeks-is-under-fire-is-there-anywhere-left-to-hide-for-the-chinese-chatbot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">banned or investigated by several nations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Google, meanwhile, finds itself in an awkward position. Despite developing much of the foundational AI technology, it is now trailing in adoption and impact.<\/p>\n<p>Cullen likens Google\u2019s current struggle to that of \u201ctraditional on-premise software providers at the birth of cloud computing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are now rumors about <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/apple\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/apple\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple<\/a> potentially introducing <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/artificial-intelligence\/apple-might-kick-google-search-off-of-safari-report\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/artificial-intelligence\/apple-might-kick-google-search-off-of-safari-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AI search capabilities in Safari<\/a>, which would further intensify the pressure on Google\u2019s search business.<\/p>\n<p>Statcounter\u2019s findings are based on over 3.8 billion monthly page views, and it offers a real-time look at the shifting balance of power.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the picture is not fully complete. Grok, another major chatbot, was excluded from the rankings due to its lack of header referral data, leaving a small blind spot in the broader market analysis.<\/p>\n<p>You might also like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ChatGPT now leads AI referral traffic worldwide, leaving Google\u2019s Gemini far behind in usage DeepSeek\u2019s domination in China&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3163],"tags":[323,1942,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-205355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-technology","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114727578689497024","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}