ChatGPT slips below half the AI market
In late May ChatGPT dropped to 46.4 percent market share, the first time below half since launch. Gemini and Claude are chipping away, while OpenAI still holds over a billion monthly users.
- ChatGPT fell to 46.4 percent market share in late May, its first dip below half since launching in 2022.
- Gemini now holds 27.7 percent and Claude 10.3 percent of the market.
- Despite the drop, ChatGPT still has around 1.1 billion monthly active users.
- The figures come from Sensor Tower's State of AI report for 2026.
Has ChatGPT lost its crown? No, but for the first time it is sharing the table with serious rivals. According to Sensor Tower’s State of AI report for 2026, ChatGPT fell below half of the market in late May for the first time since it launched in 2022. The exact figure is 46.4 percent. It sounds like bad news for OpenAI, but it is worth stopping to read what the number actually says.
Because ChatGPT still has around 1.1 billion people who open it at least once a month. The market did not shrink, it grew. A bigger pie is simply split among more players, so the leader’s percentage naturally slides. That is the distinction marketing headlines love to skip.
Who is taking ChatGPT’s share?
Two names. Gemini, Google’s assistant, now holds 27.7 percent of the market. Claude, from Anthropic, has climbed to 10.3 percent. Add ChatGPT and the three players cover almost eighty-five percent, with the rest scattered across dozens of smaller tools.
Gemini has one advantage you should not underrate. It is built into the phone already in your hand, into search, into Gmail, into your documents. You do not have to install anything, only agree. Claude took a different route, building a reputation for precision in longer text and code, which is winning over people who work with words and programming.
For an everyday user in Serbia this is not a contest to follow like a league table. The important part is more practical. More competition means none of the three can afford to sleep. Features that were paid yesterday are slowly slipping into free tiers, because nobody wants to lose a user who can switch to a rival with one tap.
Does that mean you should switch tools?
Not necessarily. If ChatGPT does the job for you, habit has its value and there is no reason to jump just because some percentage fell. But it is worth knowing the alternatives exist and that they are good. Our advice is simple, try all three on the same real task you actually have. Write the same email, ask the same question about a bill, request the same summary of a text.
The differences are small but noticeable. Gemini is fastest when you need something from your Google account. Claude gives calmer, longer answers when you are writing something serious. ChatGPT is still the most versatile and has the largest community, which means the most tips online when you get stuck.
Dropping below fifty percent is not the end of an era, it is a sign the market has matured. Two years ago there was one tool everyone talked about. Today there are three pushing each other to be better, and the person who profits most from that race is the one with a phone in hand. That is you.
Which AI assistant do you use every day, and would you switch if someone offered you a better free tier?
