Gemini 3 gains on ChatGPT as Google closes AI gap

New Sensor Tower data reveals early signs of saturation for ChatGPT, the world’s leading AI chatbot, even as it maintains a dominant user base. Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini and other emerging rivals are rapidly closing the gap across downloads, market share and engagement.

ChatGPT remains the world's most widely used AI chatbot, but fresh data indicates its growth curve is beginning to flatten. According to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the OpenAI-owned platform accounts for 50% of global mobile downloads and 55% of worldwide monthly active users (MAUs).

Its overall user base is still expanding—up 180% year-on-year as of November 2025—but momentum has slowed sharply. Between August and November, ChatGPT’s MAUs rose by only 6%, reaching approximately 810 million. Analysts say the deceleration signals the first meaningful signs of market saturation in the fast-growing AI chatbot sector.

Gemini benefits from Android integration and image model popularity

Google’s Gemini is emerging as ChatGPT’s strongest competitor, gaining traction through both product innovation and ecosystem advantages. Gemini’s MAUs increased roughly 30% between August and November, driven in part by the viral success of its latest image-generation model, Nano Banana. Measured year-on-year, Gemini’s users surged 170%.

Sensor Tower highlights a crucial differentiator: twice as many U.S. Android users access Gemini through the operating system itself rather than the standalone app, giving Google an embedded advantage in Android-heavy markets. Over the past seven months, Gemini’s global market share climbed by three percentage points, while ChatGPT’s dipped by a similar margin over the last four months.

Other rivals are also accelerating. Perplexity posted a staggering 370% year-on-year MAU increase, while Anthropic’s Claude grew 190%.

Downloads and engagement reveal intensifying competition

Download trends underscore the shifting momentum. ChatGPT’s installs grew 85% year-on-year, below the market cohort’s 110% average. Perplexity led download growth at 215%, followed by Gemini at 190%.

Engagement metrics show an even sharper divergence. Gemini users now spend around 11 minutes per day on the app, a 120% jump since March, fuelled largely by Nano Banana’s popularity. ChatGPT’s daily time spent rose only 6% during the same period and fell 10% between July and November.

The cooling engagement helps explain OpenAI’s recent “code red” directive from CEO Sam Altman, urging teams to accelerate improvements in reliability, personalisation and image generation.

Despite its commanding lead, the data makes one point clear: the AI chatbot race is tightening, and dominance is no longer guaranteed.