ChatGPT Emerges as a Major Paid-Click Destination From Google Search

ChatGPT Becomes a Leading Paid Search Destination From Google

ChatGPT is becoming one of the most important destinations users reach through Google Search — and new research suggests paid ads play an unusually strong role in that journey.

A study by iPullRank examined 13.113.113.1 billion Google Search events from 9.19.19.1 million opted-in users between October 202420242024 and December 202520252025. The analysis tracked what people searched for on Google and where they clicked after seeing results.

The findings show that ChatGPT was the sixth most-clicked destination from Google Search in the dataset. It ranked behind YouTube, Google-owned properties, Reddit, Facebook, and Wikipedia.

However, ChatGPT stood out in one key area: it received the highest proportion of paid clicks among the major destinations analyzed.

ChatGPT and Google Search Are More Connected Than Expected

The data challenges the assumption that AI assistants and traditional search engines are entirely separate channels.

Instead of replacing Google Search completely, ChatGPT is also benefiting from it. Users often begin their journey on Google, then click through to ChatGPT via either organic listings or paid advertisements.

For advertisers and marketers, this suggests that the customer journey is increasingly interconnected. A user may discover a topic through Google, use ChatGPT to research options, and later return to Search to compare brands, products, or services.

OpenAI’s paid-search presence may therefore help capture high-intent users who already know they want to access ChatGPT.

Zero-Click Search Has Less Impact on ChatGPT Queries

Google’s zero-click experiences, including AI-generated answers and instant result panels, can reduce the number of users who visit external websites. But searches related to ChatGPT appear less affected by this behavior.

According to iPullRank, only 11.1%11.1\%11.1% of searches likely to lead users toward OpenAI were intercepted by a zero-click Google experience. That was among the lowest rates observed for prominent destinations in the research.

One likely reason is user intent. Many people search directly for “ChatGPT” because they want to open the platform, not receive an answer within Google’s results page.

Google can often satisfy informational queries without sending visitors elsewhere. It cannot fully replace a navigational query where the user explicitly intends to visit a specific product or service.

Paid Clicks Remain Stable Despite Zero-Click Growth

The report also offers a potentially encouraging signal for Google Ads advertisers.

During the 151515-month period, Google’s overall zero-click rate increased by approximately 2.62.62.6 percentage points. At the same time, the share of searches resulting in organic website clicks dropped by around 2.82.82.8 percentage points.

Paid click behavior, however, remained largely unchanged.

This indicates that the growth in zero-click searches may be reducing organic traffic more than paid-ad traffic, at least within iPullRank’s panel data. Paid search is still exposed to changes in user behavior and Google’s evolving SERP design, but the study suggests ads have remained comparatively resilient.

Brand Campaigns Continue to Matter

Branded searches generated a higher share of paid clicks than non-branded searches.

Among branded queries that led to a click, 4.4%4.4\%4.4% of clicks were paid. For non-branded searches, paid clicks accounted for 3.3%3.3\%3.3%.

This pattern supports a familiar PPC strategy: brands continue to bid on their own names to protect visibility, prevent competitor interception, and control the message shown to high-intent users.

For a highly recognized product such as ChatGPT, a Google search for its name represents valuable navigational demand. A prominent paid placement can still be useful even when the brand already ranks first organically.

The research does not reveal OpenAI’s keyword strategy, ad budget, or the exact share of paid traffic generated by branded terms. As a result, it cannot confirm whether defensive bidding is the primary reason behind ChatGPT’s high paid-click share.

Google Still Drives Discovery

The study also reinforces Google’s continuing value as a discovery platform.

Only around 14%14\%14% of Google clicks went to websites directly named in the user’s query. The other 86%86\%86% were categorized as discovery clicks, meaning Google introduced users to destinations they had not explicitly requested.

That creates substantial opportunity for advertisers. While branded searches remain important, much of Google’s traffic comes from users researching unfamiliar solutions, comparing alternatives, or exploring a problem before choosing a provider.

What This Means for Marketers

ChatGPT’s role as both a search competitor and a major destination receiving paid clicks from Google illustrates how digital discovery is changing.

Rather than treating Google Search and AI platforms as isolated ecosystems, marketers should consider the ways users move between them. Google may help create awareness or capture intent, while AI tools such as ChatGPT can become part of the evaluation, research, and decision-making process.

The emerging journey is not simply Google versus ChatGPT. In many cases, it is Google leading users to ChatGPT — with paid search helping shape the path.