The news: The vast majority of referral traffic from AI sources comes from desktop users while mobile traffic lingers in single-digit percentages.

• 94% of ChatGPT referral traffic is from desktop users, per BrightEdge’s The Open Frontier of Mobile AI Search report.
• Google Gemini’s traffic is 91% desktop versus 5% mobile, while Perplexity’s is 97% desktop and just 3% mobile.
• Google Search is the sole standout, split almost down the middle: 53% of its referral traffic is from mobile and 44% is from desktop.

This means the mobile-first strategy many publishers and brands have adopted to capture short attention spans could backfire for desktop users, leaving them behind as desktop-first strategies rake in traffic.

Extra effort: Although AI apps are surging in popularity—ChatGPT has over 400 million downloads, per Reuters— users rarely click away from mobile interfaces.

A big part of that behavior could be extra friction on mobile. On desktop, clicking on a ChatGPT citation takes users directly to the source, but on mobile, the app typically previews the content on first click, then requires an extra tap to visit the source website.

Why it matters: Generative engine optimization (GEO) is increasingly important. Brands and publishers that don’t optimize for desktop-first AI referral traffic could struggle to gain visibility and engagement.

• Companies need to account for how users interact with AI tools—especially considering the added difficulties of mobile navigation—by optimizing the desktop user experience.
• Not aligning GEO efforts with desktop-first behavior risks wasting resources on users who aren’t clicking through.

Why is Google Search the outlier? While referral traffic from generative AI (genAI) tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity is overwhelmingly desktop-based, Google’s standard search performs strongly on both platforms. That’s largely thanks to its role as the default search engine on Safari.

Marketers focused on Google referral traffic over others have more room to wait on implementing device-specific content strategies but should start strategizing for a rise in other chatbots.

Our take: As search engines increasingly reduce organic visibility and prioritize zero-click searches, brands and publishers need to develop unique content strategies for different devices. Providing a mix of long-form, in-depth posts for desktop users along with snappy headlines and skimmable content for those on mobile could help achieve the best of both worlds.

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