The global technology arena is witnessing a radical shift in the balance of power within the artificial intelligence market, as the dominance of the ChatGPT tool developed by OpenAI has begun to decline noticeably. These changes come amid strong competitors, such as Google’s Gemini bot and Anthropic’s Claude bot, recording rapid and growing gains in their user bases. According to new data from investment firm BNP Paribas released last Monday, Claude’s average daily active user rate doubled between February and March, while Gemini continued its steady rise in user engagement levels and web traffic share.
A noticeable decline in market share
These findings revealed by BNP Paribas crown months of accumulated data clearly pointing to intensifying competition in the smart virtual assistant market. In this context, data from Apptopia, first published by Fortune magazine, showed that ChatGPT’s mobile market share in the United States dropped from 69.1% in January 2025 to 45.3% in January 2026. Over the same period, Gemini’s market share nearly doubled, rising from 14.7% to 25.2%. On the web browsing front, Similarweb data showed that ChatGPT’s share of global traffic fell from about 87% to settle at 65% over the course of 2025, reflecting a clear shift in user preferences toward other available market options.
Claude achieves exceptional leaps in the business world
It is noteworthy that the momentum witnessed by the Claude bot has been powerful and surprising to observers. The innovative chatbot reached 11.3 million daily active users on March 2, the highest daily total the bot has ever achieved, according to Similarweb data reported by the Times of India. In statements to TechCrunch, Anthropic explained that paid subscriptions to its services more than doubled during 2026. This remarkable growth is primarily attributed to the widespread popularity of advanced productivity tools such as Claude Code and Claude Co-Work, which were launched in January. Additionally, visits to the bot’s webpage reached about 290 million visits in February, an increase of over 43% compared to January, confirming growing trust in this bot’s capabilities.
Google’s strength and influence push Gemini forward
On the other hand, Gemini’s rise has not been driven solely by technical superiority or standard AI benchmarks; rather, it has relied heavily on Google’s vast and extensive distribution network. The chatbot crossed the threshold of 2 billion monthly web visits for the first time in January 2026. During Alphabet’s fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that Gemini had reached 750 million monthly active users, up from 650 million users in the previous quarter. Google’s deep integration and seamless embedding of Gemini technologies within the Workspace productivity suite serve as a primary engine for this massive growth, with statistics indicating that 73% of corporate accounts relying on Gemini use the tool directly via daily Workspace applications.
Strategic challenges ahead for OpenAI
This upward trend among competitors poses a complex strategic challenge for OpenAI, especially as the company weighs an initial public offering in the financial markets. Although ChatGPT still retains the largest overall user base in the market, estimated at approximately 810 million monthly active users in late 2025, the gap between it and Gemini is narrowing at an accelerated pace. Financial analysts and tech sector experts anticipate that ChatGPT’s share of web traffic will stabilize at levels between 50% and 55%, as the company will undoubtedly succeed in retaining professional users who rely on it heavily, while continuing to lose casual visitors and everyday users to strong, free alternatives available in the market.
Regarding the enterprise and business market, specialized analysis found that the Claude bot managed to surpass ChatGPT in adoption rates during early March. Claude captured 32% of enterprise usage, compared to a share ranging between 28% and 30% for ChatGPT. This shift in institutional preferences highlights the importance of specialized features and reliability in attracting business clients. Commenting on these developments, Tom Grant, vice president of research at Apptopia, stated: “The data regarding user churn and movement away from the platform represents the true signal and the most important indicator here.” Taken together, these developments indicate that the era of absolute monopoly in generative artificial intelligence has ended, ushering in a new era built on continuous innovation and competition to deliver actual added value to users.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most prominent artificial intelligence bots currently competing with ChatGPT?
Gemini, developed by Alphabet’s Google, and Claude, created by Anthropic, are among the most prominent competitors currently capturing increasing shares of the artificial intelligence market.
Why is the Gemini bot experiencing rapid growth in user numbers?
Gemini’s rapid growth is primarily due to Google’s wide distribution network, in addition to the successful integration of the bot’s technologies within Workspace business applications, making it the preferred choice for many companies.
How has this competition affected ChatGPT’s market share?
This competition caused a noticeable drop in ChatGPT’s mobile market share in the United States from 69.1% to 45.3%, alongside a decline in its share of global web traffic from 87% to 65%.
