ChatGPT vs Other AI Chatbots: A Look at the Latest Market Data and Trends

ChatGPT’s Dominance in AI Chatbot Market Share (StatCounter July 2025 Update)

Every now and then, you see a set of numbers that tells a story about the future being written in real-time. That’s exactly how it feels looking at the latest AI chatbot market share data from StatCounter. The story it tells is crystal clear: OpenAI’s ChatGPT is in a universe of its own, while a fierce battle rages far below for second place.

Now, before we dive into the charts, let’s address on issue about this kind of data. We can certainly question whether it’s a true reflection of actual usage, because accurately tracking the AI chatbot market is very difficult. StatCounter’s numbers are fantastic for showing us direct browser activity, but they can’t capture the full, complex picture. For example, they often miss usage happening inside dedicated mobile or desktop apps, through developer API calls or within assistants deeply integrated into an operating system (e.g. Microsoft Copilot in Windows).

While it’s not the whole story, this data is still incredibly useful. It acts as a powerful proxy for public interest and active engagement, showing us which tools people are consciously seeking out in their browsers. It’s one of the best gauges we have for what’s happening on the front lines of the consumer AI market and for that it’s very valuable.

So, with that important context in mind, what story does this browser data actually tell for July 2025? It points to that staggering lead for OpenAI’s ChatGPT we talked about, leaving a whole host of impressive rivals from Perplexity and Google’s Gemini to Microsoft’s Copilot, DeepSeek and Anthropic’s Claude locked in a battle for a much smaller piece of the pie.

To really see the bigger picture, we’ve laid out the data going back to March, April and May. We’ll walk through the numbers together first and then dive into our analysis of why this is happening and what it truly means for anyone trying to get found online in the age of AI.

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Global AI Chatbot Market Share Trend (Mar-Jul 2025)

StatCounter only began tracking AI chatbot usage in March 2025, but even then ChatGPT commanded roughly four-fifths of the market right out of the gate. The table below compares the estimated global market share (%) for major AI chatbots in March, April, May and July 2025:

AI Chatbot	Mar 2025	Apr 2025	May 2025	Jul 2025
ChatGPT (OpenAI)	~80.0%	~80.0%	80.06%	82.65%
Perplexity	~12.0-15.0%	~12.0%	12.04%	8.03%
Microsoft Copilot	<1.0%	~3.0-4.0%	4.77%	4.59%
Google Gemini	~2.0%	~2.0%	1.95%	2.19%
DeepSeek	~1.0%	~1.0%	0.8%	1.6%
Claude (Anthropic)	~0.5%	~0.5%	0.5%	0.9%

As shown, ChatGPT has not only maintained its overwhelming lead, but it even grew its share from ~80% to over 82% by July. Meanwhile, Perplexity AI’s share shrank markedly over this period and Microsoft’s Bing Chat ‘Copilot’ rose quietly from virtually nothing to around 4-5% globally. Google’s Gemini remains stuck at a low single digit share, even after Google made its advanced Gemini features free to all. Anthropic’s Claude and DeepSeek (a China-focused chatbot) barely register globally, together under ~2.5% by July. Below we dig into each chatbot’s story and what might be driving these trends.

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AI chatbot market share at a glance

• ChatGPT grew from roughly 80% in March to 82.65% in July.
• Perplexity fell from the low teens to 8.03% in July.
• Microsoft Copilot rose quickly to 4.59%, helped by distribution inside Bing and Windows.
• Google Gemini remains near 2.19% despite free access and heavy promotion.
• DeepSeek and Claude remain minor globally. DeepSeek’s strength is regional in China.

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ChatGPT: The Market Leader in 2025

ChatGPT’s market dominance is clear. As of July 2025 it accounts for roughly 82% to 83% of worldwide chatbot usage by StatCounter’s measure. In many countries it is the default destination when users think about AI chat. Why it keeps winning:

• First mover and brand. ChatGPT was the first generative AI to capture public attention. Its brand is synonymous with AI chatbots for many users.
• Ease of access. Web and mobile availability with fewer barriers over time.
• Constant improvement. Updates to the model and the introduction of a plugin ecosystem keep the user base engaged.
• Network effects. A large user base, a big prompt community and countless how-to guides reinforce usage and attracts new users.

StatCounter’s data backs this up: ChatGPT started around ~80% share in spring 2025 and only increased its slice as the year went on. Even as rivals launched, no one seriously dented ChatGPT’s lead. In fact, some of its growth likely came at the expense of smaller players (as we’ll discuss with Perplexity).

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Perplexity: The Rising Star?

Early in 2025, Perplexity AI looked like a promising up and comer. This accuracy focused AI search engine gained traction by emphasizing cited sources and a neat interface. In StatCounter’s first measurements (March 2025), Perplexity captured an impressive chunk, roughly mid-teens percentage of the market (about 16% of U.S. chatbot users in March, likely ~12-15% globally). That placed it as the clear number 2 behind ChatGPT at the time.

However, by July 2025 Perplexity’s share had tumbled to around 8% globally (and only ~5-6% in the U.S.). This slide from double-digits down to the low single-digits is one of the starkest shifts among AI chat tools this year. So, what happened? A few possible factors:

• ChatGPT’s gravity Many early Perplexity users were tech enthusiasts drawn to its citation feature and quick answers. But as ChatGPT kept improving and removing friction (e.g. no login access, plugins for browsing), some users may have reverted to ChatGPT for convenience or out of habit. It’s hard to maintain growth when the incumbent is so dominant and continually improving.
• Limited mainstream awareness Outside of AI circles, Perplexity lacks brand recognition. It doesn’t have a tech giant’s backing or viral fame. Casual users likely haven’t heard of it, whereas ChatGPT is front page news. That limits Perplexity’s adoption to a more niche audience of power users.
• Competitive pressure The period saw Microsoft’s Copilot ramping up and Google pushing Gemini. Some who tried Perplexity as an alternative search might have shifted to testing those big name offerings once they became available. Perplexity’s value prop (fast answers with sources) started to overlap with others as well.

That said, Perplexity isn’t dead - quite the opposite! Eight percent is still meaningful and Perplexity retains a loyal base for cited answers and research style queries. The brand is consistently innovating, introducing new products and is one of the biggest names in the AI industry. Perplexity’s brand is unparalleled, their product design is among the best, blending functionality with an intuitive, elegant user experience.

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Google’s Gemini: Underperforming Despite Big Reach

Google entered the fray with Gemini (the codename for its next-gen AI, now also powering the AI Mode). You would think being Google would guarantee a sizeable market share. Yet, StatCounter’s data shows Gemini sits near 2.19% globally. The brand power and free access have not translated into user share. Factors include a late start, early product perception issues and a lack of clear differentiation. Some usage likely blends into Google’s broader search experience, which can mask the standalone chatbot picture. Short term traction remains low despite the size of Google’s ecosystem. To be fair, Google is playing a long game. July’s ~2% share doesn’t mean Google has given up - but it shows that brand power alone isn’t enough to win AI chat. In the short term, Gemini’s traction remains disappointingly low, even with the weight of Google’s platform behind it.

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Microsoft Copilot: A Quiet But Notable Rise

Microsoft’s Copilot (the AI chat integrated into Bing and other Microsoft products) has had a stealthy climb. Back in March 2025, Copilot barely registered (< 1% share globally) because it had just launched (Bing’s GPT-4 chat went public in Feb 2025). But by May, Copilot reached around 5% share globally by July. StatCounter shows Copilot sitting at ~4.6% worldwide in July which, while modest, is an impressive leap in a few months.

Unlike ChatGPT’s explosive viral growth, Copilot’s increase has been gradual and under the radar. What’s driving this “quiet” rise?

• Integration into existing habits Microsoft cleverly baked Copilot into Bing search, Windows and even Edge’s sidebar. This means users might use Copilot without specifically seeking it out e.g. typing a question in Bing and getting an AI chat answer (although that’s also possible now). As one of the default channels (especially for Windows users and on mobile via the Bing app), Copilot benefits from inertia and default settings. People who never went to ChatGPT.com might still encounter Copilot via Bing.
• Enterprise and productivity Microsoft positioned Copilot not just as a web Q&A bot, but as an assistant across Office apps, Teams etc. While those integrations were rolling out slowly, the branding of “Copilot” across MS products likely helped awareness. Professionals might trust Microsoft’s offering more for work related queries. It’s gaining usage in scenarios where ChatGPT might not be directly available (like right inside Word or Outlook for those in the testing program).
• International reach via Windows Outside the U.S., Bing’s search share is tiny, but Windows is everywhere. Microsoft pushing the new AI to millions of Windows users (with that little Copilot icon on the taskbar) could steadily be driving adoption. Even if only a fraction click it, that’s still a large user base due to Microsoft’s footprint.

StatCounter’s data suggests Copilot siphoned off some share from other chatbots likely from Perplexity and maybe a bit from ChatGPT between March and May. By July it settled around ~4-5% globally, which is notable for a newcomer. Microsoft essentially went from almost zero presence in AI chatbot market to being the nr 3 player worldwide in a matter of months.

Still, Copilot is no threat to ChatGPT’s crown at this point. Its nearly 10% U.S. share in July vs ChatGPT’s 80%+ is a large gap. And globally, Bing/Copilot’s impact is muted by Bing’s low search engine usage outside certain markets. Microsoft also isn’t heavily marketing Copilot to consumers as a separate thing, it’s more like a feature that’s just “there” when you use Microsoft products.

Going forward, if Windows Copilot (the OS level assistant) becomes widely available, we might see further jumps in share. But for now, Copilot’s rise is a subplot: significant, yet overshadowed by ChatGPT’s dominance. It’s built a small niche, especially among Bing users and enterprise folks, which is exactly what Microsoft hoped for as it tries to chip away at Google and ride the AI wave.

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Claude And DeepSeek: Niche Players with Low Visibility

Claude remains small in public referral terms. It leans into enterprise and API use, which does not always show up as consumer chatbot sessions. DeepSeek is the opposite story. It is largely invisible in the West yet strong inside China. The two together remain below 3 percent globally at midyear.

For both Claude and DeepSeek, the key point is “out of sight, out of mind”. They’re not significantly impacting the global competitive landscape for AI assistants in terms of user share. Claude might be doing important things in enterprise AI or API and DeepSeek rules its isolated roost in China, but neither is competing with the big names for worldwide market share or traffic. From an AI visibility standpoint, brands likely don’t need to worry much about optimizing for Claude or DeepSeek at this time - their user bases are just too small or too siloed.

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Grok: The X Factor From X

One major assistant sits outside the current StatCounter tables. Grok by xAI is integrated directly into X platform. That integration gives Grok immediate reach, social context and daily visibility inside one of the most active social platforms. Not to mention that Grok 4 is among the most powerful AI chatbots on the market right now. If and when Grok appears in referral tracking at scale, it likely ranks among the leading AI assistants in usage. Social distribution is a powerful on ramp for everyday queries, quick summaries and conversational search.

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Summary Of July 2025 Chatbot Market Share

Rank	Chatbot	July 2025 Share
1	ChatGPT	82.65%
2	Perplexity	8.03%
3	Microsoft Copilot	4.59%
4	Google Gemini	2.19%
5	DeepSeek	1.60%
6	Claude	0.90%
—	Grok	Not tracked

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Why Users Choose Some Chatbots Over Others

Looking at all these trends, it’s clear that user behaviour and platform context play a huge role in who wins the AI chatbot race:

• Name recognition and trust: ChatGPT benefited from being first and famous, people trust it because everyone knows about it. Similarly, Google’s known name wasn’t enough because the product didn’t wow users to overcome ChatGPT’s head start. In AI, perception of intelligence matters: ChatGPT got the reputation of “most advanced” and that became self-fulfilling as users kept choosing it, even if it isn’t anymore.
• Availability and ease: Frictionless access beats features that require setup.
• Platform integration: Built in assistants inside search, browsers and the OS win casual usage. A lot of users just use whatever is built in. That’s why Microsoft’s numbers rose (integrating Copilot into Bing and Windows) and why Google is leveraging search, Android and Workspace to push Gemini. The average user isn’t going to switch to a new site or app if their existing tools already offer AI tools.
• Quality and reliability: Users stick with the model that consistently answers well. Over time, users gravitate to AI platforms that consistently give good answers. ChatGPT’s quality (especially with gpt-4) set a high bar. Perplexity’s initial differentiator was cited sources (great for verifiability), which drew a lot of users, but perhaps that feature wasn’t enough to sway the masses. Google Gemini in Workspace and AI Mode could be strengths, but if the core Q&A quality isn’t great, people notice. In this phase of the market, overall answer quality and reliability seem to trump any fancy add-ons.
• Ecosystem and community: Prompts, plugins, APIs and shared workflows compound adoption. ChatGPT has plugins, a developer API and a huge community of prompt engineers sharing tips on social media. This ecosystem effect reinforces usage, users learn new ways to use ChatGPT (e.g. writing prompts, creating content etc.), which broadens its utility. Competing AI tools with narrower ecosystems (fewer integrations or community resources) might feel less useful in comparison, limiting their appeal.

In short, users choose what is accessible, trustworthy and useful. ChatGPT ticked all those boxes early and continues to benefit. Others are trying different angles. For example Claude aiming at businesses and API, Perplexity at highly accurate, high quality search results, Gemini piggybacking on Google’s reach etc., but none have cracked the formula to go truly mainstream yet. The usage stats reflect this reality.

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Impact On Search Visibility And GEO Strategy

AI chat interfaces are changing how people discover and consume information. More questions start inside assistants instead of classic search engines. The result is fewer traditional clicks and a rising need to be referenced by the models themselves. Practical implications:

• Optimize for answers: Structure content so models can parse and summarize it cleanly.
• Citations and credibility: Source clarity, author profiles and schema help machines connect facts to your brand.
• Platform targeting: If your audience overlaps with Windows users, monitor Copilot. If your audience lives on X, keep an eye on Grok.
• Track AI referrals: Track how much of your traffic originates from chatbot sessions, not only from search engines.

We’re already seeing Google’s search share dip below 89% (and on desktop below 80%!) as alternative search and AI tools nibble at the edges. It’s early days, but the search landscape is diversifying after a decade of Google nearly unchallenged.

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Final Thoughts

The July 2025 picture shows a winner takes most market. ChatGPT keeps expanding its lead. Perplexity is cooling off from an early surge. Copilot has carved out a steady position through distribution. Gemini is still searching for traction. Claude and DeepSeek remain niche or regional. Grok is the wildcard that could climb through social distribution once it appears in referral tracking.

For brands, the playbook now includes Generative Engine Optimization. Visibility in AI answers is as critical as visibility in classic search. If you want help tracking and improving AI visibility across these assistants, Deepserp is built for that job. For the search optimization industry, it signals a new kind of competition - not just for users, but for who controls the flow of information when people ask AI chatbots for answers. The second half of 2025 will tell if any challenger can chip away at ChatGPT’s lead, but for now, the chatbot crown firmly belongs to OpenAI.