New Research: Influence Happens Everywhere, an Analysis of the 5,000 Most-Visited Sites on the Mobile and Desktop Web

Why It Matters

Marketers must look beyond search and allocate spend to social, news and other influence channels, as they drive the majority of pre‑search discovery. Overestimating AI‑tool traffic could misguide budget decisions, while Google remains the primary discovery engine.

Key Takeaways

• Search accounts for 24% of global web visits.
• Social and news together capture ~27% of traffic.
• AI tools only 2% of visits, despite hype.
• Google dominates, outpacing next 13 sites combined.
• Excluding apps underrepresents social, messaging and entertainment.

Pulse Analysis

The Similarweb click‑stream panel, covering millions of devices worldwide, offers a rare glimpse into where users spend their browsing minutes before they ever type a query. By manually categorising the top 200 sites and using AI to classify the remaining 4,800, the study achieved over 99% accuracy, revealing that search—while still the largest single category—accounts for just under a quarter of all visits. Social platforms and news outlets together eclipse search, underscoring that influence is generated in the feeds and headlines people consume daily, not solely in the search box.

For marketers, this distribution reshapes budget priorities. Traditional reliance on search‑engine optimisation must be complemented with robust social‑media and news‑placement strategies, especially in B2B sectors where decision‑makers still browse industry sites and LinkedIn feeds. The modest 2% share of AI‑tool visits suggests that the current hype around ChatGPT‑type services is not yet translating into significant traffic, though AI’s indirect influence via Google’s AI‑enhanced SERPs remains substantial. Ignoring these channels risks ceding audience attention to competitors who are already active where influence actually happens.

The analysis does have limitations: mobile‑app traffic is excluded, likely understating the true reach of social, messaging and entertainment apps, while AI‑tool usage is skewed toward desktop. Future research, including an upcoming zero‑click search study, will fill these gaps and help marketers develop a more holistic view of the consumer journey. Until then, a diversified, data‑driven approach that balances search with social, news and emerging platforms will be essential for sustainable growth.