OpenAI’s web-enabled feature, ChatGPT Search, is rapidly expanding its user base across Europe, edging closer to new regulatory scrutiny under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
According to a recent compliance filing by OpenAI Ireland Limited, the corporate arm responsible for EU operations, ChatGPT Search averaged 41.3 million monthly active recipients over the six-month period ending March 31, 2025. This marks a near fourfold increase from the 11.2 million recorded in the previous six-month span ending October 31, 2024.
The disclosure comes as part of OpenAI’s obligation under the DSA, which mandates transparency from digital platforms operating in the European Union. The DSA defines a “monthly active recipient” as any user who engages with the service at least once during a given period — whether by viewing, listening, or interacting with the platform’s content.
Should ChatGPT Search’s growth continue at its current pace, it could soon surpass the 45 million monthly recipient threshold that designates a service as a “very large online platform” under the DSA. Crossing this line would trigger a host of compliance requirements, including offering users the ability to opt out of algorithmic recommendations and profiling, sharing data with EU regulators and researchers, and undergoing independent audits.
Failure to comply with the DSA could result in penalties of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover. Persistent violations may even lead to the service being temporarily suspended within the EU.
Since its launch in 2024, ChatGPT Search has carved out a niche as an AI-powered alternative to traditional search engines. A September 2024 poll found that 8% of users said they would choose ChatGPT over Google for web search — a small but notable share in a market overwhelmingly dominated by Google, which reportedly processes 373 times more searches than ChatGPT.
However, questions about reliability continue to dog ChatGPT’s search feature. One study found the chatbot misidentified 67% of articles it was asked to find. Another report flagged persistent inaccuracies, even when referencing content from publishers with which OpenAI holds licensing agreements.
