February Channel Benchmarks: Google Expands, Meta Pulls Back, and AI Search Doubles

Alex Fusco
Alex Fusco
March 03, 2026
February Channel Benchmarks: Google Expands, Meta Pulls Back, and AI Search Doubles

Top Gainers


Google Ads (+54%)
Google increased from 30.30% in January to 46.80% in February, a 54% jump in revenue share. Paid search captured a significantly larger portion of total revenue.

Bing Ads (+54%)
Bing Ads grew from 1.30% to 2.00%, also up 54%. While still a smaller slice overall, the growth rate mirrors what we’re seeing across search channels.

Referral (+46%)
Referral traffic climbed from 1.30% to 1.90%, a 46% increase month over month.

AI Search (+100%)
AI Search doubled from 0.10% to 0.20%, a 100% increase. The overall share remains small, but the growth rate is notable.

Direct (+2%)
Direct traffic held steady, moving from 10.50% to 10.70%, up 2%.


Decliners


Meta Ads (-41%)
Facebook Ads dropped from 22.30% to 13.10%, a 41% decrease in share.

Organic (-36%)
Organic search declined from 14.10% to 9.00%, down 36% month over month.

Organic Social (-55%)
Organic Social fell from 2.90% to 1.30%, a 55% decline, the largest percentage drop in the dataset.

Email (-18%)
Email moved from 8.30% to 6.80%, an 18% decrease.

SMS (-13%)
SMS dipped from 0.80% to 0.70%, down 13%.

Other (-7%)
The “Other” category declined from 8.10% to 7.50%, a 7% decrease.


Ready to see where your channels stand?


Use ThoughtMetric to track every channel, campaign, ad set, and ad in one place.

Book a demo to learn more.

In This Article

  1. Top Gainers
  2. Decliners
  3. Ready to see where your channels stand?

Sign up for our newsletter.

We care about your data. Read our privacy policy.

See ThoughtMetric in Action

Let us show you how it works

Book a demo

You might also be interested in

E-comm Thoughts

How CAPI Helps Your Ads Perform Better With Accurate Data

What every e-commerce brand needs to know about Conversion APIs.

E-comm Thoughts

4 Signs You and Your Team Are Ready for an E-Commerce Attribution Tool

Clarity across channels starts with better attribution.

E-comm Thoughts

7 Attribution Insights That Separate High Growth Stores from the Rest

The specific metrics that high-growth e-commerce brands monitor to make faster, more profitable scaling decisions than their competitors.