ChatGPT and its parent company OpenAI took the world by storm in 2022 when they released their first large language model, revolutionizing how people search and ask questions.
They held a near 85% market share in the initial months of release, an astonishingly high fraction given the huge competition in the software as a service (SaaS) space.
In its early years, ChatGPT’s dominance seemed impossible to surmount. The model rapidly became the go-to tool for millions of users worldwide, for everything from simple questions and for work, education, and creativity.
By June 2025, OpenAI’s product was still the most visited generative AI service, holding approximately 60% of the generative AI market.
At that time, trackers reported ChatGPT attracting almost 500 million unique monthly visitors.
This momentum has continued throughout the past few years, with ChatGPT holding a majority of the market until mid-2025.
But trends started to shift in mid-to late-2025 as Google and Anthropic both released flagship models that equaled or exceeded ChatGPT in terms of processing power.
The last six months have been precarious for ChatGPT. Newer, more specialized AI chatbots have steadily chipped away at ChatGPT’s market share.
A report from Similarweb suggests that ChatGPT remains the market leader, but its share of web traffic has fallen roughly by 20%.
Google’s Gemini has been one of the biggest competitors, rising from single digit positions to now holding a solid 20% stake of the market. This is in part due to Google’s integration of AI into their regular search engine ecosystem.
At the same time, Anthropic’s Claude has firmly carved out a niche in the enterprise and developer segments.
It’s consumer share is somewhat modest, but rapid growth in the business and specialized use case markets shows the company is pursuing a different strategy.
Instead of chasing everyday consumers for monthly subscriptions, Anthropic is targeting much larger corporate contracts, and this strategy seems to be paying off.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Anthropic made nearly $9 billion in 2025, with projections of $18 billion in 2026. This number, as of yet, is still half of OpenAI’s $20 billion in revenue, but OpenAI is floundering in the business sector, an extremely important area for revenue growth.
Looking at the bigger picture, market fragmentation like what we are currently seeing is an important moment for the AI industry.
What started as a monopoly is morphing into a healthy, competitive environment.
This will ultimately benefit the consumer, since competition forces companies like Anthropic and Google to innovate and reduce prices in order to compete with OpenAI.
Businesses and people alike are now choosing tools based on specific capabilities instead of brand recognition, a welcome shift from total ChatGPT dominance.