ChatGPT Surges to Sixth Place in Israel's August Website Rankings
Similarweb data for August shows ChatGPT reaching a record sixth place in Israel, outpacing major news sites, while traditional media face a post-World Cup decline.
The latest Similarweb data for August reveals significant shifts in Israel's top 20 most-visited websites, marked by the post-World Cup cooling period and preparations for the holiday season.
ChatGPT Climbs to Record Sixth Place
The most prominent trend is the meteoric rise of ChatGPT, which has climbed further up the ranks to secure 6th place—an all-time high in Israel. For the first time, the AI chatbot has outpaced major domestic news portals like Walla and Mako. Meanwhile, Google's competing AI model, Gemini, failed to break into the top 10, slipping out of the elite group to make room for Wikipedia, which has returned to the top tier.
"The consistent decline of traditional news outlets in web traffic rankings points to a broader shift in how Israelis consume media, increasingly moving toward mobile apps and social platforms." — Industry Analysts
Movements in the Top 20
Beyond the top tier, several notable changes occurred across the rankings:
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Ma'ariv jumped from 12th to 11th place.
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Gov.il surged by 5 spots to reach 14th place.
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AliExpress climbed 2 positions.
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Sport 5 dropped 3 spots to 17th place, while Kan 11 plummeted 17 places down to the 30th position following the end of the World Cup.
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Pornhub maintained its position at 16th place.
Google, YouTube, and Ynet continue to dominate the top three spots, with Ynet remaining Israel's most-visited news site. Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram also retain a firm grip on the top five, demonstrating sustained desktop engagement among Israeli users.
