Google Gemini Surges Past 20 Percent Market Share as ChatGPT Traffic Plummets

OpenAI’s ChatGPT has seen its global web traffic share fall from 86.7 percent in January 2025 to 64.5 percent in early 2026. This represents a staggering loss of over 22 percentage points in just twelve months. During this same period, Google’s Gemini has experienced explosive growth, quadrupling its market share from 5.7 percent to 21.5 percent.

Gemini crossing the 20 percent threshold is a landmark moment that signals the end of the initial AI monopoly. The success of Google’s model is largely attributed to its aggressive integration into Search, Gmail, and the Android operating system. By lowering friction for adoption, Google has turned its massive ecosystem into a formidable distribution engine that is now eating into ChatGPT's casual user base.

User engagement metrics further highlight Gemini's increasing dominance. The Similarweb Global AI Tracker (2026) shows that Gemini users now spend an average of 7 minutes and 20 seconds per session. This is significantly higher than the average time seen on ChatGPT, suggesting that users are finding more sustained utility in Google's AI offerings.

If these trends continue, Gemini is positioned to potentially become the most visited AI site by the end of 2026. With ChatGPT’s share dropping by 15 points in the last six months alone and Gemini’s share rising by 13 points in that same window, the gap is closing rapidly. The release of Gemini 3 has provided a technical performance boost that makes the transition even more compelling for users.

The broader market is also becoming more fragmented with the rise of niche players. xAI’s Grok surged to a 3.4 percent share, overtaking Perplexity through its integration with the X social platform. Meanwhile, models like DeepSeek continue to hold significant ground, ensuring that the next chapter of generative AI will be a multi-front battle for user attention.