# Perplexity Captures 7.67% of AI-Chatbot Referrals, Approaching Google's Share

> Fresh Statcounter numbers for May put a real dent in the assumption that Google owns how people find things. Perplexity now leads the narrow but fast-growing category of AI-chatbot referrals at 7.67 percent, nudging just ahead of Google's own Gemini at 7.03 percent, with Copilot and Claude trailing. The catch is scale: traditional Google search still handles roughly 90 percent of all queries, so this is a fight over a small slice, not a coronation. What makes the figure worth a second look is the trajectory behind it. Perplexity's monthly users have grown about 370 percent year over year, nearly triple ChatGPT's pace, and its valuation has jumped from around 500 million dollars in 2024 to a reported 20 billion plus today. Google is not standing still: its AI Mode has crossed a billion monthly users and AI Overviews reach more than two billion. The interesting question is which scoreboard ends up mattering. Search share counts blue links served; answer share counts synthesized responses people actually read. Perplexity is winning the second game, and that is the one reshaping how the open web gets monetized.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Digital Applied · Published Monday, July 13, 2026_

## Wortins' read

Fresh Statcounter numbers for May put a real dent in the assumption that Google owns how people find things. Perplexity now leads the narrow but fast-growing category of AI-chatbot referrals at 7.67 percent, nudging just ahead of Google's own Gemini at 7.03 percent, with Copilot and Claude trailing. The catch is scale: traditional Google search still handles roughly 90 percent of all queries, so this is a fight over a small slice, not a coronation. What makes the figure worth a second look is the trajectory behind it. Perplexity's monthly users have grown about 370 percent year over year, nearly triple ChatGPT's pace, and its valuation has jumped from around 500 million dollars in 2024 to a reported 20 billion plus today. Google is not standing still: its AI Mode has crossed a billion monthly users and AI Overviews reach more than two billion. The interesting question is which scoreboard ends up mattering. Search share counts blue links served; answer share counts synthesized responses people actually read. Perplexity is winning the second game, and that is the one reshaping how the open web gets monetized.

## Source

[Read the full story at Digital Applied](https://www.digitalapplied.com/blog/ai-search-engine-statistics-2026-market-share)

## Related coverage

- [Anthropic in talks with Samsung to build custom Claude inference chips at 2nm](https://www.wortins.com/story/anthropic-in-talks-with-samsung-to-build-custom-claude-infer-103c4a24) — [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/02/anthropic-is-discussing-a-new-custom-chip-with-samsung/)
- [Databricks raises at $188B valuation in strategic funding round led by Coatue](https://www.wortins.com/story/databricks-raises-at-188b-valuation-in-strategic-funding-rou-ff49f917) — [Silicon Republic](https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/databricks-opens-strategic-funding-round-at-188bn-valuation-ai-data)
- [Etched emerges with $800M in funding and $1B in signed inference chip contracts](https://www.wortins.com/story/etched-emerges-with-800m-in-funding-and-1b-in-signed-inferen-8495fef5) — [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/30/nvidia-competitor-etched-hits-5b-valuation-1b-in-sales-for-ai-chip/)
- [Open-Source Chinese AI Models Disrupting US Frontier Dominance as Pricing Pressure Mounts](https://www.wortins.com/story/open-source-chinese-ai-models-disrupting-us-frontier-dominan-52a245c5) — [Semafor](https://www.semafor.com/article/07/15/2026/us-grapples-with-rise-of-chinese-open-source-ai)
- [Upscale AI raises $190 million Series A-1 at $2 billion valuation](https://www.wortins.com/story/upscale-ai-raises-190-million-series-a-1-at-2-billion-valuat-1a6ae951) — [Quartz](https://qz.com/upscale-ai-raises-190-million-2-billion-valuation-062226)
- [Figma Config 2026: AI agents, motion, generative shaders, code layers ship](https://www.wortins.com/story/figma-config-2026-ai-agents-motion-generative-shaders-code-l-5d002fa3) — [Figma](https://www.figma.com/blog/config-2026-recap/)

---

_Curated and written by [Wortins](https://www.wortins.com) — The daily AI briefing. Every story links to its original source; the "Wortins read" on each is our own original analysis. [About Wortins & our editorial approach](https://www.wortins.com/about)._