2026 State of Web Report
Netizens across the globe spent a cumulative 1.6 trillion hours using websites last year — and that’s actually less time than they spent in 2024. Our inaugural State of Web report illuminates the where, when, why, and how of web usage, providing key intel for anyone with a stake in a site’s performance.
Using cutting-edge data from Sensor Tower’s Web Insights, the report delves into acquisition, engagement, traffic flow and device overlap before finishing off with an AI snapshot that shows how discovery is shifting on an internet increasingly shaped by LLMs.
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Here are four key takeaways from State of Web 2026:
AI is rapidly reshaping web and changing how consumers make decisions: AI assistants were the fastest-growing web category in 2025 (+86% traffic, +101% time spent), and ChatGPT became the #6 most visited website globally.
Web is concentrated around a few gatekeepers: Search and Social together account for ~2.4 trillion visits, serving as the internet’s primary gateways. Google and Meta continue to dominate both traffic and engagement across web and mobile, and social platforms lead the way in cross-platform discovery.
Mobile is winning the traffic war, but desktop still owns engagement: While mobile surpassed 50% of global web visits for the first time in Q1 2026, desktop still accounts for over 70% of web time spent. Users increasingly browse on mobile but complete deeper engagement on desktop.
AI discovery is emerging as a new traffic channel, but search still dominates: Gen AI referrals are growing rapidly but still account for only 0.7% of overall traffic and are more concentrated in production-focused verticals like Software and Education. This is only a taste of the data in the report. Download your copy of State of Web today to access 40+ pages of exclusive insights and dynamic charts.