OpenAI’s quiet May 7 product change turned ChatGPT into a measurable traffic source for brands. Google is testing a real-time stock check inside the local pack. And Search Console’s Discover report lost a third day of data in three weeks.
The AI Referral
Similarweb’s data confirms what brand-instrumented analytics dashboards have been catching since early May: ChatGPT is now sending material referral traffic to brand sites, and the engagement metrics on that traffic look healthier than typical organic.
- ChatGPT Referral Traffic Up 150% After OpenAI Added Homepage Links — Linked answers in ChatGPT jumped from 0.4% to 6.2% in a single day around May 7. Three weeks later, Similarweb has measured the impact: referrals up 150%, ~60% landing on brand homepages, pageviews per visit +24%, time on site +11%. B2B/SaaS up 200%; financial services +60%. The window for clean baseline measurement is closing fast.
The Local Layer
Google’s local search has been edging toward real-time inventory awareness for years. The latest test moves it from background infrastructure to a visible button readers will tap before they get in the car.
- Google Tests a Real-Time Stock Button in the Local Pack — Sachin Patel spotted a Check Real-Time Stock button rendering next to More Places in the local pack, with the same prompt appearing in AI Mode. The data behind it comes from Merchant Center local inventory feeds, which makes feed completeness a competitive lever for showing up in the answer.
The Reporting Layer
Search Console’s reliability as a Discover reporting surface is degrading at the moment Discover is becoming a larger share of publisher traffic. Three permanent data-loss incidents in three weeks make that a real reporting problem, not a one-off.
- Google Discover Report Suffers Third Data Loss in Three Weeks — May 21 joins May 7 and May 8 as permanent gaps in Search Console’s Discover performance report. Google says rankings were unaffected, but the record is gone. The Search Console link report is also currently broken. Publishers should treat GA4 or server logs as the canonical Discover record until Google posts a fix.