ChatGPT Sends Fewer Visitors to Websites: Down 52%
In recent weeks, there has been a significant decline in the traffic that ChatGPT sends to external websites. According to an analysis by Josh Blyskal of Profound, who examined more than one billion citations in ChatGPT and one million referral visits from various websites, this traffic has fallen by 52% since July 21, 2025. This trend is affecting many websites across various industries, even as ChatGPT continues to grow in popularity.
Key Figures from the Analysis
Josh Blyskal uncovered several interesting details in his study. Citations from Reddit have increased by 87% since July 23, 2025, and now account for more than 10% of all citations in ChatGPT. Wikipedia has seen a 62% increase from its July low and accounts for nearly 13% of citations. Together with TechRadar, these three websites—Wikipedia, Reddit, and TechRadar—now account for 22% of all citations, 53% more than a month ago. This concentration of citations among a handful of websites means that many other sites are losing visibility and, with it, potential visitors.
Why Is This Decline Happening?
According to Josh Blyskal, this decline is unrelated to the launch of GPT-5, which took place on August 7, 2025. Changes in citations began earlier, probably due to adjustments to OpenAI's system, which now prioritizes sources with direct and useful answers. Websites such as Reddit and Wikipedia are benefiting because they provide content that directly answers users' questions, while other websites that focus more on sales or conversions are being sidelined. Danny Goodwin, editor of Search Engine Land, noted in his August 20 article that these OpenAI experiments can cause major fluctuations in traffic.
Impact on Websites and What It Means
Additional information from various sources confirms that the decline in referral traffic from ChatGPT is consistent across industries, but it affects publishers, blogs, and small businesses the most. For example, the absolute number of referrals from ChatGPT to news websites is growing—from fewer than one million at the beginning of 2024 to more than 25 million in mid-2025—but this is not enough to offset losses from other sources, such as organic search. This trend resembles the situation with Google, where AI Overviews led to a 25% decline in referral traffic for publishers. Overall, citations in ChatGPT are becoming concentrated among fewer domains, reducing diversity and the number of outbound clicks.
How Can Websites Adapt?
In his post on LinkedIn, Josh Blyskal emphasizes that websites that shift from conversion-focused content to directly answering questions have a better chance of being cited more often. For example, phrases such as "Schedule a demo" can be an obstacle, while direct answers to user queries attract attention. This shift shows how ChatGPT is becoming a more self-contained tool, where users receive answers directly without needing to visit external websites. If this trend continues, websites could lose millions of potential clicks, while those that adapt could benefit instead.
