AI Is Answering More Questions and Sending Fewer Clicks. Here’s What It Listens To

Nov 11

What changed in AI search this week?

Five things stood out. OpenAI said ChatGPT now handles roughly one-fifth as many search-style questions as Google. A new usage report found AI still sends less than 1 percent of website traffic. Ahrefs found that Reddit mentions line up with AI visibility more than any other mention type. A study of 380,000 AI answers showed each AI tool trusts different websites. And Google’s AI Mode started linking directly to booking and quote pages for home service businesses.

How big is ChatGPT compared with Google now?

On November 3, 2026, OpenAI’s ChatGPT consumer product lead Adam Fry told Big Technology that ChatGPT’s volume of search-style queries is about one-fifth of Google’s. OpenAI counts a search each time a question sends ChatGPT to the web. He also said ChatGPT grew from 1 billion to 1.2 billion users in two months (Search Engine Roundtable; Big Technology).

Treat the number with care. OpenAI did not say where its Google figure came from, which makes it hard to compare with other estimates (Search Engine Journal). Google, for its part, reports search queries at a five-year high (Search Engine Journal).

If AI is so popular, why isn’t it sending more website traffic?

Because AI answers the question on the spot. A November 2026 report from the agency Graphite, using Similarweb data, estimated that six AI assistants reached 76 billion sessions a month worldwide in September, up 37 percent year over year. Yet the report suggests AI accounts for less than 1 percent of traffic to websites on average. In the U.S. in the second quarter of 2026, organic search sent about 49 times more visits than AI referrals (Search Engine Journal).

For a professional services firm, that means the AI answer is often the first impression. The goal is to be named in it, so the prospect searches for you by name next.

What kind of online mentions help a business get recommended by AI?

Ahrefs studied 10,000 brands and 260 million AI prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, leaving out any prompt that named the brand. Mentions in Reddit threads that rank in Google had the strongest correlation with AI visibility, at about 0.75. Brands with 10 times more Reddit mentions got about 5.5 times more AI mentions (Ahrefs).

Two other findings matter for small firms. Press coverage (0.67) did not beat ordinary webpage mentions (0.70), so a mention on a niche or local site may count about as much as a big publication. And the median brand had only 8 Reddit threads mentioning it; 29 percent had none. These are correlations, not proof of cause.

Should lawyers and consultants be on Reddit?

Be present, but be genuine. The Ahrefs data suggests real community conversations matter. That does not mean posting fake reviews or self-promotion, which can backfire and, for lawyers, raise professional conduct issues. The better move is to answer questions helpfully where your clients already ask them, and to earn mentions on local news sites, bar and trade association pages, podcasts and directories.

Do ChatGPT, Google and Claude use the same sources?

No. Research by Ross Simmonds of Foundation Marketing with AirOps, published November 9, tracked about 380,000 AI answers on 81 business software topics across six AI tools. Reddit appeared in 52 percent of Google AI Mode answers and 39 percent of AI Overviews, but 21 percent of ChatGPT answers and none of Claude’s. YouTube appeared in 47 percent of AI Mode answers and almost none from ChatGPT or Claude. LinkedIn appeared in 13 percent of AI Mode answers and none from ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude (Search Engine Journal).

The same study found 84 of the 100 most-cited pages were comparison pages or listicles. Keep in mind the data covers software, and the author’s agency sells these services.

What type of page does AI cite most often?

In that study, comparison pages (59) and “best of” lists (25) made up 84 of the top 100 cited URLs. For a law firm or consultancy, an honest guide such as “How to choose an estate planning attorney” or “Mediation vs. litigation: which is right for you?” fits this pattern without attacking competitors.

Can Google’s AI book appointments with a business now?

Yes, for some U.S. home services. On November 4, 2026, Google’s Robby Stein announced direct booking and quote links in AI Mode through Angi, Thumbtack, Housecall Pro and Jobber, with ServiceTitan coming soon. Jobber requires a paid subscription and a connected Google Business Profile at the same address, and Jobber and Housecall Pro say they charge no lead fee for these bookings. Google has not said how it picks which businesses appear; Jobber suggests reviews and a booking form may help (Search Engine Journal; Search Engine Roundtable).

Will AI booking come to law firms and professional services?

Google has not announced that. But the direction is clear: AI is moving from recommending a business to booking it. Any service firm can prepare now with a complete Google Business Profile, a steady flow of reviews, and an online way to schedule a consultation.

What is the Brave search index, and why does it matter for AI visibility?

Brave runs its own index of more than 30 billion pages and sells access through the Brave Search API. Brave’s site names Cohere, Mistral, Perplexity and You.com as users (Search Engine Journal). Lawsuits filed by The New York Times and other papers name Anthropic, Perplexity, Mistral, xAI and Cohere as customers; none of them is a defendant (BetaNews).

To check your site, go to search.brave.com and search for site:yourdomain.com. If you want AI tools to recommend you, make sure you appear in Brave and Bing as well as Google, and that nothing on your site blocks their crawlers.

What should a solo practitioner or small firm do this week?

Ask ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Claude who they recommend for your service in your city, and note who gets named.
Find two or three genuine places to be mentioned: a local publication, an association page, a podcast or a community thread.
Post one helpful piece on LinkedIn and consider a short YouTube answer to a common client question.
Write one honest comparison or “how to choose” page.
Check your Google Business Profile, reviews and online booking.
Search site:yourdomain.com on Brave and Bing to confirm you are in their indexes.

Sources

Andrew Colsky