Google’s Gemini app has surpassed ChatGPT in the App Store downloads in late April and early May 2025. Similarweb shared the data, and this is the first time Gemini has overtaken its rival in this key metric, which indicates that the competition is furious in this space.
In late April/early May, Gemini surpassed ChatGPT in App Store downloads. pic.twitter.com/Ss3PeoLOHP
— Similarweb (@Similarweb) June 5, 2025
This is a big achievement for Google as Gemini’s surge has arrived after a year of intense rivalry. While ChatGPT dominated the AI app market throughout 2024, amassing 250 million downloads worldwide and leading the U.S. market with 31 million installs, Gemini has closed the gap since its February 2024 launch. In the first 18 days of its U.S. release, Gemini notched 951,000 downloads, second only to ChatGPT’s 1.4 million in the same early period.
Engagement Still Favors ChatGPT
Despite Gemini leading the download numbers for now. It’s still ChatGPT, which is the leader in user engagement and market share. As of early 2025, ChatGPT holds a commanding 60% market share with 400 million weekly users, compared to Gemini’s 13.5% share. Along with that, ChatGPT boasts higher “stickiness,” which means that its users are more likely to return and interact regularly.
Now, there could be various reasons why people are choosing to engage more with ChatGPT instead of Gemini. Some suggest that ChatGPT’s strengths in creative content, conversational abilities, and a more mature ecosystem for building custom chatbots and automation are at play. On the other hand, some believe that Google is praised for its research capabilities and seamless Google integration.
AI App Market Booming
So, it’s hard to predict who will win the battle for the most downloads or engagement in the end. However, one thing is clear: the AI app market is booming. Recently, Google launched the app for its AI research and note-taking tool NotebookLM. Apart from that, in 2024 alone, more than 4,000 new AI apps were launched, with total downloads across all platforms reaching nearly 1.5 billion. With popular giants like OpenAI and Gemini, other prominent players are Doubao, Microsoft Copilot, Character AI, and more.
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