ChatGPT's dominance in the fast-growing AI assistant market has weakened for the first time, with its global market share falling below 50% as competition from rivals such as Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude intensifies, according to a report by Sensor Tower.
The report found ChatGPT's market share declined to 46.4% by the end of May, down from more than 50% in January. While the OpenAI chatbot remains the world's most widely used AI assistant, the data suggests users are increasingly diversifying their AI usage rather than relying on a single platform. ChatGPT continues to command a substantial lead with more than 1.1 billion monthly users worldwide.
Google's Gemini has emerged as its closest challenger, reaching 662 million users, while Anthropic's Claude has grown to 245 million users. Sensor Tower attributed the shift to changing user behavior as consumers and businesses become more comfortable experimenting with multiple AI assistants for different tasks.
Gemini's rapid rise has been fueled by its integration across Google's ecosystem, including Search, Android and Workspace products, giving it broad exposure to existing users. Claude, meanwhile, has carved out a niche among professionals and developers, benefiting from strong retention rates and growing adoption in productivity, research, and coding workflows.
India's Role in the Global AI Economy
The report also highlighted India's increasingly important role in the global AI economy. India remained the world's largest generative AI web market, recording more than 13 billion visits during the period analyzed, significantly ahead of the United States, which logged more than 8 billion visits. The figures underline the country's growing appetite for AI-powered tools and services, driven by its large internet population and expanding digital ecosystem.
Within India, ChatGPT remains the leading AI assistant with a market share of 45.6%, narrowly mirroring its global position. Gemini has established itself as a strong second player with 31.6% share, benefiting from Google's deep reach across devices and services. Claude accounts for 10% of the Indian market, while Elon Musk-backed Grok holds a 2.4% share. Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek has also gained a foothold, capturing 1.5% of the market.
However, India's dominance in AI-related web traffic has not translated into sustained growth in app downloads. Sensor Tower noted that AI app downloads in the country have declined from earlier peaks, reflecting a broader slowdown across several markets as the sector matures.
