ChatGPT shows millions of links, but nobody clicks them

A confidential OpenAI document reveals the extent of the paradox: links displayed in ChatGPT generate negligible traffic, even for the most visible pages. The figures are unequivocal and call into question the real impact of generative AI on publishers' web traffic.

A file rich in insights

Fewer than a hundred media outlets worldwide have access to this confidential document shared by OpenAI with its publishing partners. The file, revealed by Vincent Terrasi on LinkedIndetails the metrics the AI giant monitors regarding the display of and interactions with publishers' links.

{
"date_partition": "----",
"publisher": "Publisher name",
"report_month": "----",
"base_url_host": "example. com",
"base_url": "example. com/url-1",
"min_date_report": "----",
"max_date_report": "----",
"url_rank": "",
"distinct_turns_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_clicked": "",
"ctr_anywhere": ".",
"distinct_turns_response_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_response_clicked": "",
"ctr_response": ".",
"distinct_turns_sidebar_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_sidebar_clicked": "",
"ctr_sidebar": ".",
"distinct_turns_search_results_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_search_results_clicked": "",
"ctr_search_results": ".",
"distinct_turns_citations_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_citations_clicked": "",
"ctr_citations": ".",
"distinct_turns_tldr_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_tldr_clicked": "",
"ctr_tldr": ".",
"distinct_turns_fast_nav_shown": "",
"distinct_turns_fast_nav_clicked": "",
"ctr_fast_nav": ".",
"total_shown": "",
"total_clicked": "",
"total_response_shown": "",
"total_response_clicked": "",
"total_sidebar_shown": "",
"total_sidebar_clicked": "",
"total_search_results_shown": "",
"total_search_results_clicked": "",
"total_citations_shown": "",
"total_citations_clicked": "",
"total_tldr_shown": "",
"total_tldr_clicked": "",
"total_fast_nav_shown": "",
"total_fast_nav_clicked": ""
}

These data potentially constitute the foundations of a future "ChatGPT Search Console"a tool that would allow publishers to track their visibility in generative AI, similar to what Google Search Console does for traditional search.

Chilling figures

For one of the top-performing pages in the file, the statistics reveal a dizzying gap between visibility and actual traffic. Out of 610,775 total link impressions, only 4,238 clicks were recorded, for an overall click-through rate of 0.69%.

The best CTR individual one barely reaches 1.68% for a single page. The majority of other pages hover between 0.01% and 0.1%, and some are simply at 0%. One particularly striking example shows 518,624 impressions for only 4,670 clicks.

These performances are very far from what is traditionally observed in Google search results, where top positions generate significantly higher click-through rates.

A precise mapping of display areas

OpenAI's document details thoroughly every place where ChatGPT can display a link, as well as the associated interactions.

The file tracks the following data :

• Time information (report period, min/max dates)
• Publisher and URL details (publisher name, base URL, host, URL rank)
• Impressions and clicks for each area: response body, sidebar, citations, search results, TL;DR summary and quick navigation
• CTR calculations for each display area
• Overall totals of impressions and clicks

The paradox of visibility without traffic

The performance analysis by area reveals a counterintuitive phenomenon: The locations that generate the most impressions are the ones that convert the least.

The main body of the response accumulates hundreds of thousands of views but shows tiny CTRs. Conversely, the sidebar and citations get far fewer impressions but convert between 6% and 10%. Search results record almost no impressions and zero clicks.

This distribution suggests that ChatGPT users rarely consult the sources, considering the generated answer sufficient. Only those actively seeking to dig deeper or verify click the secondary links.

A paradigm shift for publishers

This situation recalls the era of Google's position zero, where the answer shown directly in search results cannibalized traffic to source sites. But with ChatGPT, the phenomenon takes on unprecedented scale.

For a media outlet, content creator, or website, this is an unprecedented change: being displayed 600,000 times absolutely does not guarantee receiving significant traffic. Visibility is completely disconnected from actual traffic.

Conversational agents are becoming the new publishers, reorganizing and rephrasing content without necessarily directing users to the original sources. Trust in the AI model now outweighs the need to consult the referenced sites.

Towards a ChatGPT Search Console

The very structure of the file reveals a major difference with traditional SEO tools. Unlike keyword-tracking platforms, OpenAI's data model is not query-oriented but URL-based.

This monthly report covers the top 1,000 URLs for each partner publisher. This level of granularity suggests that OpenAI is preparing to provide publishers with structured access to this data, likely alongside the rollout of ads in ChatGPT.

Concrete implications for web traffic

The data confirm what other studies have suggested: Traffic generated by AI remains a tiny portion of websites' overall traffic. And unlike traditional SEO, this traffic does not seem likely to behave like classic organic search.

Put another way: hoping that visibility in ChatGPT will make up for the drop in Google traffic is a risky strategy given these figures. Publishers need to rethink their approach and not bet everything on appearing in generative AI responses.

The rise of conversational agents is profoundly changing how content is consumed and shared on the web. Traditional visibility metrics no longer necessarily reflect the real impact on traffic and audience.

The article “ChatGPT shows millions of links, but nobody clicks them” was published on the site Abundance.