ChatGPT search feature is growing rapidly in Europe, although it is still far from reaching the scale of Google

ChatGPT, a search engine that provides chatbots with access to fresh information from the Internet, is growing rapidly in Europe. According to a report by OpenAI Ireland Limited, the average number of active users of this feature reached 41.3 million per month in the six months to March 31, 2025. For comparison, in the previous half-year this figure was only 11.2 million. This is reported by TechCrunch.

OpenAI is releasing these statistics in accordance with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates the activities of large online platforms in Europe. Under the law, services with more than 45 million monthly active users must allow opt-out of recommendation algorithms, provide access to certain data to researchers and authorities, and undergo external audits. If the current growth rate continues, ChatGPT Search could fall under these requirements.

Violation of DSA rules can lead to fines of up to 6% of a company's global turnover or even a temporary ban on operating in the EU.

Despite its rapid growth, ChatGPT Search is still far behind the market leader, Google. According to some estimates, the number of searches on Google is hundreds of times higher than ChatGPT. A survey showed that only 8% of users are willing to use ChatGPT as their primary search engine.

ChatGPT Search also has its shortcomings — particularly in accuracy. Studies show that it often makes mistakes when searching for articles or processing news, even when it has access to licensed sources.