AI chatbot traffic grows seven times faster than social media but still trails by a factor of four

Social media still pulls in four times more traffic than AI chatbot services, but AI is growing seven times faster, according to an analysis by Similarweb. Gender and age profiles are similar across both categories, peaking in the 25-34 age group, though AI users skew slightly older.

Device usage shows a clear split: social media divides roughly evenly between desktop and mobile, while 72 percent of AI tool traffic comes from desktop, suggesting chatbots serve mainly as work and productivity tools. Social media users also spend more time per session, while AI users work in shorter, task-oriented bursts.

Both categories rely on direct traffic, but AI services more so: 73 percent vs. 50 percent for social media. Social media draws far more organic search traffic, likely because its publicly indexed content surfaces in search results. AI chatbots don't produce searchable content, so users likely navigate straight to their preferred tool.