Google Search Traffic Plummets 40% in Two Years

Chartbeat's recent report on its publisher network reveals a significant decline in Google Search traffic. The analytics company tracked a 40.2% year-over-year drop from July 2025 to July 2026, up from a 21.9% decline the previous year.

The report also shows that Google Discover's year-over-year decline increased from 6.6% in the first year to 34.3% in the second.

Meanwhile, AI referrals grew eight times over two years but declined in 2026. ChatGPT was the most effective driver of traffic among AI providers, according to Chartbeat.