AI Dominance: OpenAI Monopolizes 80% of Artificial Intelligence Sector Market Share

Unveiling the AI Dominance: ChatGPT Reigns Supreme

AI Dominance: OpenAI Monopolizes 80% of Artificial Intelligence Sector Market Share

The Unmatched Popularity of ChatGPTThe captivating insights from SimilarWeb paint a clear image of the generative AI industry's current landscape: while technological superiority is a hot topic, ChatGPT has snatched the crown of user adoption by a practically incomparable margin.

With a staggering over 5.5 billion visits in May 2025, ChatGPT's dominance is unparalleled, eclipsing the combined traffic of tech titans like Google's Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Perplexity, and Claude. Simply put, ChatGPT is the most visited generative AI model, making it the default choice for hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Fueled by its partnership with Microsoft, ChatGPT has not only endured but surged despite a minor dip in traffic, demonstrating remarkable tenacity in the face of competition. The mobile app alone boasted over 250 million monthly active users between September and November 2024.

The Power of Abiding Resilience

Despite a brief setback early in 2025, ChatGPT bounced back with remarkable agility, skimming the stratosphere once more. This resilience is a testament to its widespread acceptance and loyalty among its user base.

Chinese Upstart DeepSeek: A Stealthy Rise

Another striking data point: Chinese startup DeepSeek, often blocked on U.S. government-issued devices and many institutions, soared from a mere 33.7 million monthly users to a stupendous 436 million visits in just five months, demonstrating a breathtaking 13x increase - enough to make even the most seasoned venture capitalists shed tears of envy.

DeepSeek's operational costs are a fraction of Western models, with input tokens costing a humble $0.55 compared to OpenAI's exorbitant $15. This accomplishment was unbelievably achieved using less efficient Nvidia H800 chips due to export restrictions, mirroring a Formula 1 victory with a Toyota Corolla under the hood.

DeepSeek's geographical dominance showcases its empire's rapid expansion in markets unexplored by Western AI companies, with China, India, and Indonesia accounting for an impressive 51% of its users.

The Struggle for the Runner-Up Spot: Google and Anthropic

Despite being a $2 trillion behemoth with a daily search volume of 3.5 billion, Google's AI prowess feels underwhelming. In contrast, Gemini managed a mere 527.7 million visits, despite several advantages, including billions in funding, wide-ranging ecosystem integration, immense user access, and control over AI browsers and partnerships with major brands.

Nonetheless, Gemini's growth indicates positive trends, as the platform gathered 284 million visits in February, suggesting its popularity could surge if it continues on this trajectory.

Perhaps the most surprising finding is Claude's underwhelming performance. With the backing of Amazon and Google and technical superiority in numerous benchmarks, Claude managed less than 100 million visits worldwide in May 2025. This intriguing disconnect between Claude's technical capabilities and user adoption sheds light on the fact that the best product is not always the crowd favorite.

AI's Bloodbath: The Fall of Traditional Internet Businesses

While AI titans vie for supremacy, traditional internet businesses are witnessing their empires crumble. For instance, Chegg's traffic plummeted a staggering 64% as students discovered ChatGPT, a free alternative providing superior homework help. Similarly, Quora's traffic dipped 51%, and freelance platforms like Fiverr saw a 14% decline.

Conversely, DevOps and code completion tools saw a surge of 41% year-over-year, voice generation platforms grew by 14%, and automation tools jumped by 12%.

The harsh truth crystalized by SimilarWeb: technical supremacy means little without user adoption. While Claude amazes researchers, ChatGPT wins the hearts of the masses. Gemini has Google's distribution resources but lacks differentiation, making its performance underwhelming.

ChatGPT conquered by arriving first, being good enough, and most importantly, being who users wanted - an AI companion that simply works. While competitors focused on benchmark scores and safety protocols, ChatGPT focused on usability. Its 5.5 billion visits confirm its strategy was a success.

So, while OpenAI may falter in benchmarks, ChatGPT has already crossed the finish line in the race for global adoption. Now, the real competition is for second place.

Revised by Andrew Hayward

AI Chronicle

Key Factors Driving ChatGPT's Success

1. User-Friendly Interface and Accessibility:
2. ChatGPT presents users with an easy-to-use design, making advanced AI capabilities accessible to a broad range of users.
3. The chat-based interaction platform offers an intuitive and engaging way for users to interact with AI.
4. Perceived Usefulness:
5. Users perceive ChatGPT as indispensable for numerous tasks, such as information retrieval, content creation, and addressing complex queries. This perceived utility encourages widespread adoption.
6. The tool's versatile ability to handle everyday queries and complex tasks drives its popularity.
7. Innovative Technology:
8. ChatGPT leverages top-tier AI models like GPT-4 and GPT-4.5, demonstrating superior performance compared to earlier models. These enhancements have boosted user satisfaction and fueled continued adoption.
9. Marketing and Timing:
10. The strategic launch of ChatGPT during a period of heightened interest in AI increased user interest and attracted early adopters.
11. The competitive landscape at the time of launch enabled ChatGPT to capture a substantial market share before competitors could gain a foothold.
12. Continuous Iteration and Improvement:
13. Regular updates and improvements, such as the transition from GPT-4 to GPT-4.5, have kept the platform competitive and appealing to users. These developments address user feedback and enhance the tool's capabilities, promoting sustained engagement and adoption.

In essence, ChatGPT's success is the result of a blend of its user-friendly interface, perceived usefulness, innovative technology, effective marketing, and continuous improvement cycle.

1. The burgeoning Defi sector has shown interest in integrating ChatGPT's capabilities, considering the AI's potential to streamline Ethereum token transactions and improve the efficiency of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
2. In the realm of technology, AI-powered chat models like ChatGPT are being explored for their applications in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, including improved algorithms, data modeling, and interference reduction.
3. The strategic collaboration between ChatGPT and Microsoft opens up possibilities for the AI to seamlessly integrate with various Microsoft products, potentially expanding its reach and influencing other technology sectors.

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