In a significant development, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman states he no longer uses Google Search. While speaking to tech reporters during a dinner interview hosted by The Verge's Command Line newsletter, Altman explained, "legitimately cannot tell you the last time I did a Google search."
This moment puts the platform into perspective, with 700 million users adopting it weekly. GPT-5 now emerges as a disruptive alternative to Google’s $175 billion search landscape.
Altman’s remarks highlight how conversational AI reshapes the way people search for information online. According to OpenAI’s internal metrics, ChatGPT has become the world’s fifth-most-visited website, processing billions of user interactions monthly.
The company’s API traffic doubled 48 hours after GPT-5’s release, underscoring demand for AI-driven discovery. Altman even hinted at acquiring Google Chrome if regulators force its divestiture, dramatically escalating the rivalry.
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping how people search, learn, and make decisions online. A new surge in the use of ChatGPT could herald the demise of old-school search engines. Unlike Google, which provides link-based answers, ChatGPT directly answers a question, reducing the need for users to visit multiple websites.
This trend could shake the online publishing industry because Altman predicted "people will go to fewer websites." However, Altman also believes that acceptable human-grade content will have higher value on the AI-first internet.
With OpenAI investing in trillion-dollar data centers, this war is no longer one of search supremacy but rather for restructuring the very fabric of the web. Information now flows faster and is tailored to user needs; for publishers, it means adapting to the challenges of declining traffic patterns.