ChatGPT is no longer a monopoly. What is happening in the AI chatbot market

New data from the analytics platform Statcounter shows that the AI chatbot market is becoming increasingly competitive, with ChatGPT’s share gradually declining amid the growth of alternative services.

ChatGPT remains the leader but records a decline

As of April 2026, ChatGPT accounted for 76.85% of all referral traffic among AI chatbots. Although this figure remains dominant, it is the lowest value recorded throughout the observation period. A year ago, the service’s share exceeded 84%, but a steady decline has been observed over recent months.

Google Gemini strengthens its position

Against this backdrop, competitors are gaining ground. Google Gemini continues to grow, reaching a record 9% and holding second place in the market for the second consecutive month. This growth is attributed to the service’s deep integration into the Google ecosystem, including Search, Android, Chrome, and Workspace.

Perplexity and Copilot show moderate growth. Perplexity also demonstrated recovery after a period of decline, with its share increasing from 7.07% to 7.73%. Microsoft Copilot increased its figure to 3.76%, although both services remain below their peak values from last year.

Claude loses some momentum after a brief surge

Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of Claude from Anthropic. Its share dropped to 2.66% following a short-term growth driven by a wave of interest in ChatGPT alternatives amid the QuitGPT movement. At that time, many users began actively switching to other AI platforms, but the effect proved to be temporary.

About the AI market

Statcounter experts note that the AI chatbot market is entering a phase of fragmentation. The dominance of a single player is gradually weakening, and traffic is being distributed among several major services. While ChatGPT continues to maintain a confident lead and significantly outpaces individual competitors, the combined share of alternative solutions already exceeds 23%, indicating intensified competition in the industry.

For the media and digital market, this means a change in approach to traffic management: dependence on a single source is gradually decreasing, and promotion strategies increasingly involve multiple AI platforms.

Source: Techradar