OpenAI Data Shows Rapid Growth of ChatGPT Search in Europe

ChatGPT’s web search feature — which enables the chatbot to pull live information from the internet — is expanding quickly across Europe, according to new data from OpenAI.

A recent report from OpenAI Ireland Limited, one of the company's European branches, shows that between October 2024 and March 2025, the number of average monthly users of ChatGPT search jumped from 11.2 million to 41.3 million. This surge marks significant growth in user engagement with the tool.

These figures are part of OpenAI’s compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a regulation that governs various aspects of digital platforms within the European Union. Under the DSA, “monthly active recipients” refers to users who actively interact with the service, such as viewing or listening to content or submitting information.

If ChatGPT search surpasses 45 million monthly active users, it may soon fall under stricter DSA rules applied to “very large” platforms. These include giving users the option to opt out of content personalization, undergoing third-party audits, and providing data access to regulators and researchers.

Non-compliance with the DSA can result in steep penalties, including fines of up to 6% of a company's global revenue or even temporary bans within the EU.

Since launching last year, ChatGPT search has started to challenge major players like Google. A survey conducted in September showed that 8% of respondents preferred ChatGPT over Google for online searches. However, Google still dominates the space, reportedly processing 373 times more queries than ChatGPT.

Despite its popularity, AI-based search tools like ChatGPT have faced criticism over accuracy. Research has shown that ChatGPT provided incorrect information in 67% of article-related queries. Other studies have noted inaccuracies in its handling of news content, even from media outlets that have licensing deals with OpenAI.

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