Referral Traffic Skewed Toward Desktop
Desktop devices continue to dominate referral traffic from AI-powered search engines, according to new data from BrightEdge. The research examined how users engage with leading AI search tools and found that most website visits driven by these platforms originate from desktop devices. BrightEdge analysed traffic patterns across key AI search engines, including ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, Google Gemini, and PerplexityAI. Despite the increasing popularity of mobile browsing, these platforms direct the vast majority of their outbound traffic from desktop users.
- Perplexity.ai: 96.5% desktop, 3.4% mobile
- ChatGPT: 94% desktop, 6% mobile
- Bing: 94.4% desktop, 4.5% mobile
- Google Gemini: 91% desktop, 5% mobile
- Google Search: 44% desktop, 53% mobile, 2% tablet
Mobile Bottlenecks Affect Referral Behaviour
One explanation for the disparity is how AI apps operate on mobile. For example, the ChatGPT mobile app displays in-app previews when a user taps a link. This requires a second tap to open the original source, which may reduce the number of users reaching external sites. On desktop, by contrast, links lead directly to the target website.
Similar patterns are observed with Perplexity and Bing, where in-app design choices appear to limit mobile outbound traffic.
Google Benefits from Browser Defaults
Google’s higher mobile referral rate is likely influenced by its position as the default search engine on many mobile browsers, particularly Safari. According to the data, 58% of Google’s mobile search traffic to branded websites in the US and Europe originates from iPhones. With Safari installed on nearly one billion devices, this default setting has a significant impact on mobile traffic flow.
Search Marketing Implications
The data suggests that desktop remains the primary source of AI-driven website visits, even as mobile usage dominates general web traffic. For businesses tracking search referral performance, AI traffic is still largely shaped by desktop engagement and platform integration with browsers.
Unless AI tools find ways to improve outbound traffic handling on mobile, especially within app environments, this trend is expected to continue.
Read next: Deleted ChatGPT Conversations Weren’t Really Deleted — And Now OpenAI Is Pushing for ‘AI Privilege’
Source: Digital Information World
