Growth Intelligence Brief #11

ChatGPT reduces Amazon's visibility before BFCM | high value prompts on ChatGPT | the consultant vs. commodity economy | Gemini 3

Dec 05, 2025

∙ Paid

Welcome to another Growth Intelligence Brief, where organic growth leaders discover what matters - getting insights into the bigger picture and guidance on how to stay ahead of the competition.

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Today’s Growth Intelligence Brief went out to 478 marketing leaders.

This week, we’re examining 3 signs that the Great Bifurcation of search is underway:

ChatGPT takes 10%: OpenAI claims double-digit search share, and it’s likely the high-value intent that matters most.
Google strikes back: Gemini 3 launches with “reasoning” capabilities to stop the bleeding and re-anchor users.
The “Zero-Click” Wall: Leaked data confirms AI chatbots are visibility surfaces, not traffic channels.

I’ll also connect the dots on what this all means for you.

What does “ChatGPT gets 10% of search activity” mean?

Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT, dropped a number this week: “ChatGPT now accounts for roughly 10% of search activity, and it’s growing quickly.”

But what does that mean?

Here’s what happened:

In a 3-year anniversary post, Nick Turley shared that ChatGPT now handles ~10% of all “search activity.”

He also emphasized that the use case is shifting from Q&A to action-taking, where ChatGPT completes tasks on behalf of users.

This accompanies broader adoption signals: ChatGPT now drives 70% of global AI assistant usage and continues to release new products weekly.

Why this news matters:

It’s no accident that Turley’s post comes out at the same time as Sam Altman called a code red in response to Gemini 3.

While “search activity” is undefined, this is the first time OpenAI has claimed double-digit share of search behavior, and it reframes ChatGPT from AI assistant to search competitor.

My take on this:

10% doesn’t sound like a monopoly-killer until you realize it’s likely the most valuable 10% - the complex, high-intent queries that used to drive the highest affiliate revenue. If ChatGPT takes the “heavy lifting” searches, Google is left with the “weather and celebrity ages” scraps. This isn’t just a leak; it’s a skimming of the cream.

Here’s what to do:

Optimize for “corroboration,” not just Clicks. LLMs hallucinate less when facts are corroborated across multiple trusted sources. Ensure your key value propositions appear on 3rd-party review sites, Wikipedia, and high-authority industry news. ChatGPT trusts the consensus of the web more than your own homepage.