AI assistants sent 0.67% of website visits to 37 small businesses in the first ten months of 2026, about one AI visit for every 59 organic search visits. That number is small, but it is growing fast, and it understates the real influence of AI because Google’s own AI Overviews and AI Mode clicks count as Google search traffic.
The data comes from Make It Loud Digital Marketing, which analyzed Google Analytics 4 accounts of 37 small business websites, most of them in Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, covering January 2025 through October 2026. It is the first study we have seen that focuses on local service businesses rather than large national publishers.
ChatGPT accounted for 89.3% of all AI-referred visits. Gemini was second at 5.6%, followed by Perplexity at 2.3%, Copilot at 1.7%, and Claude at 1.1%. AI visitors engaged at nearly the same rate as search visitors, 59.0% versus 60.7%, which means the traffic is real, not bots bouncing after one click.
The Trend Is Clearly Upward
On nine websites tracked since January 2025, AI-referred visits rose 86% year over year while total visits fell 8%. AI visits per 1,000 organic search visits grew from 2.2 in early 2025 to 20.3 in October 2026. October 2026 set a record for AI-referred traffic.
Every one of the 28 websites with at least 500 visits in 2026 received AI-referred traffic. So the reach is broad even though the volume is still small. In October 2026, 27 of 35 websites with traffic that month got at least one AI visit, up from 11 of 14 a year earlier.
This is a convenience sample of agency clients that receive ongoing SEO work, not a random sample of all businesses. But the direction is clear: AI assistants are sending measurable traffic to local business websites, the numbers are climbing, and ChatGPT is the dominant source.
Where AI Search Engines Get Their Recommendations
A separate study by diib, covering 225 local service businesses and about 5,300 AI answers, found that when AI search engines recommend local businesses, about 74% to 79% of the sources they cite are other websites, mostly other businesses’ sites. Directories and review sites made up about 11%, and social media mattered mainly in Google’s AI Overviews, where YouTube and Reddit showed up often.
The business’s own website was cited only 3% to 7% of the time across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Gemini. That means AI engines build their recommendations mostly from what other sites say about you, not from what you say about yourself. The platforms cited most often were Facebook (179 of 225 businesses), Yelp (109), YouTube (108), Reddit (92), and Instagram (87).
This has a practical implication: your presence on directories and review platforms matters for AI visibility, possibly more than your own website content. If you want to understand how to improve your AI search presence, our AEO and GEO services cover the full strategy.
Top-Ranking Sites Get Named 17 Times More Often
QuQi’s 2026 AI search visibility study checked 3,906 AI answers to real buyer questions. Businesses ranking in Google’s top 10 were named in 64.9% of AI Overviews, about 17 times the 3.7% rate for businesses outside the top 20. But ranking was not enough: a top-10 business’s page was missing from the AI Overview’s sources 57.4% of the time.
The AI assistants named the business in 7.4% to 9.5% of their answers. Perplexity named businesses most often at 9.5%, followed by Gemini at 7.6% and OpenAI’s models at 7.4%. The assistants rarely agreed: in the 82 cases where at least one named the business, 44% got the name from only one engine.
YouTube was among the sources in 41% of AI Overviews that listed sources, and Reddit appeared in 15.6%. If your business has no YouTube presence and no Reddit mentions, you are missing two of the most common sources AI engines use.
What This Means for Your Business
The data points to a few clear actions for local business owners:
- Keep investing in organic SEO. Top-10 ranking in Google is the single biggest predictor of whether AI engines name your business. Traditional SEO and AI visibility are not separate strategies.
- Build your directory and review presence. Facebook, Yelp, YouTube, and Reddit are the platforms AI engines cite most. Claim and update your listings on all of them.
- Create YouTube content. YouTube appeared in 41% of AI Overviews that listed sources. Even simple service explanation videos count.
- Check your GA4 for AI referral traffic. Look for sources like chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com, and perplexity.ai. The numbers are small now but growing.
- Do not panic about the 0.67% figure. Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode clicks are counted as Google search, so the real AI influence is larger. The trend line matters more than the current total.
If you want a structured plan to improve how your business appears in AI answers, our SEO services include AI visibility audits and AEO optimization. You can also contact us for a quick assessment of where you stand.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much traffic do AI assistants send to local business websites?
According to a study of 37 small business websites, AI assistants sent 0.67% of total visits from January through October 2026, roughly one AI visit for every 59 organic search visits. The trend is upward, with an 86% year-over-year increase on sites tracked since January 2025.
Which AI assistant sends the most traffic to local businesses?
ChatGPT accounted for 89.3% of AI-referred visits in the study, followed by Gemini at 5.6%, Perplexity at 2.3%, Copilot at 1.7%, and Claude at 1.1%. ChatGPT is the dominant source of AI referral traffic for local businesses.
Do AI search engines cite business websites in their recommendations?
Rarely. In diib’s study of 225 local service businesses, the business’s own website made up only 3% to 7% of sources cited by AI engines. About 74% to 79% of cited sources were other websites, mostly other businesses, and 11% were directories and review sites.
Does ranking in Google help with AI search visibility?
Yes. Businesses in Google’s top 10 were named in AI Overviews 17 times as often as those outside the top 20. However, 57.4% of top-10 businesses still had no page listed as a source in the AI Overview, so ranking alone is not enough.
Is the 0.67% AI traffic figure the full picture?
No. Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode clicks are counted as Google search traffic in GA4, not as AI referrals. The 0.67% only captures direct referrals from AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini, so the real influence of AI on traffic is larger.