AI Search Statistics for Australia (2026): What the Numbers Say
Quick answer: AI tools are now mainstream in Australia. Telsyte estimates 17.4 million Australians, 77% of those aged 16 and over, use AI, and 12% of Australians now name AI tools as their main way of finding information online, up from 5% a year earlier. ChatGPT is the most used tool, by 45% of Australians aged 14 and over. AI answers also change search: in a US study, people clicked a result on 8% of Google visits with an AI summary against 15% without one. AI tools still send a small share of website traffic, about 1% across large sites, but in US retail those visits now convert better than other visits.
Every figure below links to its primary source and says where and when it was measured. Most usage data is Australian; most click and traffic data comes from the United States or global sites, because comparable Australian studies have not been published. We checked each number against its source in October 2026 and will update this page as new data appears.
How many Australians use AI tools?
Telsyte's Australian Artificial Intelligence Study 2026, an online survey of 2,023 Australians aged 16 and over in April and May 2026, found (Telsyte, June 2026):
- 17.4 million Australians use AI, 77% of the 16+ population, up by more than 6 million from June 2025.
- 14.3 million engage with AI at least monthly, four in five users, up 61% in a year.
- 5.2 million use AI every day, up 160% from about 2 million in June 2025.
- 12% of Australians name AI tools their primary means of finding information online, up from 5% a year earlier.
- 78% of AI users use it on a smartphone, against 58% on a computer.
Roy Morgan measured usage a different way, asking whether people used an AI tool in an average four weeks, and found 13.6 million Australians aged 14 and over (58%) did so in the March quarter of 2026 (Roy Morgan, based on 14,646 interviews). The two studies differ in age range and method, so the numbers aren't directly comparable, but both show a majority of Australians using AI tools.
Which AI tools do Australians use?
Roy Morgan's figures for the March quarter of 2026, Australians aged 14 and over, in an average four weeks:
| AI tool | Australians | Share |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 10.5 million | 45% |
| Google Gemini | 5 million | 21% |
| Microsoft Copilot | 4 million | 17% |
| Canva Magic Studio | 1.4 million | 6% |
| Claude | 777,000 | 3% |
Roy Morgan notes the Gemini figure counts active use of the tool, not the AI features built into Google Search, and that ChatGPT is "more than twice as popular as the next most used AI tool".
By age: 74% of Australians aged 25 to 34 and 72% of those aged 35 to 49 use AI tools, followed by 68% of 18 to 24 year olds and 66% of 14 to 17 year olds. Use drops to 50% among people aged 50 to 64 and 31% of those aged 65 and over (Roy Morgan).
How AI is changing Google search
Google reports that AI Overviews, the AI summaries at the top of many results pages, have more than 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries and territories and 40 languages. It says AI Mode passed 100 million active users in the US and India soon after launch, that AI Mode queries are 2 to 3 times the length of traditional searches, and that Google sees more than five trillion searches a year (Think with Google Australia, October 2025).
Our guide to Google AI Mode explains how the two features differ.
Do AI summaries reduce clicks?
Pew Research Center tracked the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025, covering 68,879 Google searches (Pew Research Center, July 2025):
- 18% of searches produced an AI summary, and 58% of participants saw at least one.
- When a summary appeared, people clicked a search result on 8% of visits, against 15% when there was none.
- People clicked a link inside the AI summary itself on just 1% of visits.
- Visits to a page with an AI summary were more likely to end the browsing session.
For context, clicks were already falling before AI summaries arrived. SparkToro and Datos found that 58.5% of US Google searches and 59.7% of EU searches ended without a click, using browsing data from September 2022 to May 2024 (SparkToro).
How much traffic do AI tools send to websites?
Conductor analysed 3.3 billion sessions across 1,215 enterprise websites in ten industries, from May to September 2025 (Conductor):
- AI tools referred 1.08% of all visits.
- The share was highest in IT, at 2.8%, and consumer staples, at 1.9%.
- ChatGPT sent 87.4% of all AI referral traffic.
Conductor sells AI visibility software and studied large companies, so treat these as a guide to scale rather than a forecast for a small business.
Ahrefs published a more striking example from its own website: over 30 days, AI search sent 0.5% of its visitors and 12.1% of its signups (Ahrefs, June 2025). That is one software company, and the author noted it might not hold at scale.
Do visitors from AI tools convert?
Adobe, which tracks visits to US retail sites, reported that in March 2026 traffic from AI tools converted 42% better than other traffic, such as paid search and email, a reversal from March 2025, when it converted 38% worse (Adobe, April 2026). Visitors arriving from AI tools also had a 12% higher engagement rate, spent 48% longer on the site and viewed 13% more pages per visit. In Adobe's survey, 66% of respondents said they believe AI tools provide accurate results.
Can AI tools read your website?
Adobe scored US retail web pages for how much of their content AI models could read. Homepages averaged 75%, category pages 74% and individual product pages 66%, meaning a third of product page content was invisible to the tools (Adobe). In our experience, content that only appears after scripts run, or sits inside images, is a common reason. Our technical SEO checklist covers how to check your own pages.
What makes AI tools mention a brand?
Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found that how often a brand was mentioned across the web had a strong relationship with how often AI tools named it, a correlation of 0.66 for ChatGPT and 0.71 for Google AI Mode, while backlink measures showed "very weak correlations" (Ahrefs, December 2025). The authors note that correlation isn't causation, and the brands studied were large.
In a 2023 paper, the researchers who coined the term generative engine optimisation reported that adding sources, quotations and statistics to content could "boost visibility by up to 40% in generative engine responses" in their test setting (Aggarwal et al.).
What do people use AI chatbots for?
- In the US, Pew Research Center found 49% of adults use AI chatbots, and about four in ten adults use them to search for information (Pew Research Center, survey of 5,119 adults, February 2026).
- A study of ChatGPT conversations by OpenAI and Harvard researchers found that practical guidance, seeking information and writing together made up nearly 80% of conversations (NBER working paper 34255, September 2025).
What we see in our own data
People are searching for help with this. In our own site's first six weeks in Google Search Console (13 September to 20 October 2026), searches containing "ai seo", "aeo", "geo", "generative" or "answer engine" produced 1,297 impressions across 127 different queries, led by "ai seo" (270) and "ai seo services" (191), 94% of them below position 50. It is one small site's data, but it shows the services are being looked for, not just written about. Our Search Console write-up has the wider data.
What these numbers mean for an Australian business
- Your customers already use AI. With most Australians under 50 using AI tools, some of your next customers will ask one before they search or call.
- Being named matters more than being clicked. With fewer clicks on AI-summary searches and 1% of visits clicking a link inside the summary, the win is often being the business the answer mentions.
- AI traffic is small but valuable. About 1% of visits on large sites, but converting better than average in retail. Measure it in your analytics rather than guessing.
- AI tools need to be able to read your site. Adobe found AI models could read only about two-thirds of US retail product page content. Content that appears only after scripts run is a common reason, so check your key pages.
- Mentions elsewhere count. Ahrefs found brands mentioned more often across the web are named more often by AI tools, so reviews, directories and industry sites are worth the effort.
Our guides to getting recommended by ChatGPT and why AI SEO matters for business turn these into practical steps, and our AI SEO service does the work for you. Want to know what AI tools say about your business now? We'll check as part of a free website and SEO audit.
Key statistics in one table
| Statistic | Source | Measured | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.4 million Australians (77% of 16+) use AI | Telsyte | April to May 2026 | 2,023 Australians 16+ |
| 5.2 million Australians use AI daily, up from about 2 million | Telsyte | June 2025 to May 2026 | 2,023 Australians 16+ |
| 12% of Australians use AI tools as their primary way to find information online, up from 5% | Telsyte | April to May 2026 | 2,023 Australians 16+ |
| 13.6 million Australians (58% of 14+) used an AI tool in four weeks | Roy Morgan | January to March 2026 | 14,646 interviews |
| ChatGPT 45%, Gemini 21%, Copilot 17%, Canva 6%, Claude 3% | Roy Morgan | January to March 2026 | 14,646 interviews |
| 74% of 25 to 34 year olds use AI tools; 31% of 65+ | Roy Morgan | January to March 2026 | 14,646 interviews |
| AI Overviews: 2 billion+ monthly users | October 2025 | Global | |
| AI Mode queries 2 to 3 times longer than traditional searches | October 2025 | Global | |
| 18% of Google searches produced an AI summary | Pew Research Center | March 2025 | 900 US adults, 68,879 searches |
| Result clicks: 8% of visits with an AI summary, 15% without | Pew Research Center | March 2025 | 900 US adults |
| 1% of visits clicked a link inside the AI summary | Pew Research Center | March 2025 | 900 US adults |
| 58.5% of US Google searches ended without a click | SparkToro and Datos | September 2022 to May 2024 | Browsing panel |
| AI tools referred 1.08% of website visits | Conductor | May to September 2025 | 3.3 billion sessions, 1,215 sites |
| ChatGPT sent 87.4% of AI referral traffic | Conductor | May to September 2025 | 3.3 billion sessions, 1,215 sites |
| AI-referred retail visits converted 42% better | Adobe | March 2026 | US retail sites |
| AI-referred visitors stayed 48% longer, viewed 13% more pages | Adobe | March 2026 | US retail sites |
| Retail product pages 66% readable by AI models | Adobe | 2026 | US retail sites |
| Brand mentions correlate 0.66 to 0.71 with AI visibility | Ahrefs | December 2025 | 75,000 brands |
| 49% of US adults use AI chatbots | Pew Research Center | February 2026 | 5,119 US adults |
| Nearly 80% of ChatGPT conversations: practical guidance, information or writing | NBER working paper 34255 | September 2025 | ChatGPT conversation sample |
You are welcome to cite this page. Please link to it and to the original source for each figure.
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Frequently asked questions
How many Australians use AI tools?
Telsyte estimates 17.4 million Australians, 77% of people aged 16 and over, use AI, based on a survey of 2,023 people in April and May 2026. Roy Morgan, using a different method, found 13.6 million Australians aged 14 and over, 58%, used an AI tool in an average four weeks in the March quarter of 2026.
What is the most used AI tool in Australia?
ChatGPT. Roy Morgan found 10.5 million Australians aged 14 and over, 45%, used ChatGPT in an average four weeks in the March quarter of 2026, ahead of Google Gemini at 21%, Microsoft Copilot at 17%, Canva Magic Studio at 6% and Claude at 3%.
Do Google's AI Overviews reduce clicks to websites?
The best independent evidence says yes. Pew Research Center tracked the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025 and found people clicked a result on 8% of visits to search pages with an AI summary, against 15% without one. Links inside the summary itself were clicked on 1% of visits.
How much website traffic comes from AI tools?
Still a small share. Conductor analysed 3.3 billion sessions across 1,215 enterprise websites and found AI tools referred 1.08% of visits, with ChatGPT sending 87.4% of that AI traffic. The visitors tend to be valuable: Adobe found AI-referred visits to US retail sites converted 42% better than other visits in March 2026.
Are these statistics specific to Australia?
The usage figures from Telsyte and Roy Morgan are Australian. Most click and traffic studies, such as Pew, Adobe and Conductor, measure the United States or global enterprise sites, because comparable Australian data has not been published. Each statistic in this article says where it was measured.