- Similarweb data shows ChatGPT’s share of AI-chatbot web traffic fell from 77.6% to 53.7% in 12 months.
- Google Gemini was the biggest gainer, rising from 7.3% to 26.7% over the same period.
- Anthropic’s Claude grew from 1.4% to nearly 8%; DeepSeek slipped from 6% to 4%; Grok flat at ~3%; Copilot and Perplexity below 2%.
- The data only covers website traffic and excludes API access, coding tools, and desktop and mobile apps.
What Happened
ChatGPT’s share of AI-chatbot web traffic has fallen from 77.6% to 53.7% over the past 12 months, while Google Gemini tripled from 7.3% to 26.7%, according to new Similarweb data reported by The Decoder on Thursday. Anthropic’s Claude rose from 1.4% to nearly 8% over the same stretch. DeepSeek slipped from 6% to 4%, Grok stayed flat at around 3%, and both Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity remain below 2%.
Why It Matters
The Similarweb data is the cleanest external read on the website-traffic dimension of the AI chatbot competition. ChatGPT remains the largest single destination by share, but the trajectory is unambiguous: every other major provider has gained ground in the same window. Gemini’s tripling is the most concrete data point yet that Google’s distribution advantages — Android integration, Search-bar prompts, Workspace bundling — are translating into measurable consumer-web traffic.
The data also confirms the Anthropic narrative shift visible in other indices. Ramp’s AI Index this week put Anthropic at 34.4% of paying B2B customers vs OpenAI’s 32.3%. The Similarweb web-traffic share is much lower (8% vs 54%) but the year-over-year growth rates are directionally aligned: Anthropic up 5x in web traffic share, OpenAI’s web share contracting.
Technical Details
The Similarweb measurement only covers website traffic — visits to chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com, claude.ai, perplexity.ai, copilot.microsoft.com, grok.x.com, and deepseek.com. It excludes API access (which is how most of the heaviest enterprise OpenAI and Anthropic revenue flows), coding tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code), and desktop and mobile applications. Native iPhone and Android app usage of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini is therefore not captured.
Google’s distribution levers are particularly hard to disaggregate from the data. Gemini is embedded in Android’s system experience, surfaced in Google Search results, integrated into Workspace, and reachable through the Gemini app. Web-traffic share is one signal of this funnel; the underlying user behaviour change is broader.
Who’s Affected
OpenAI faces narrative pressure ahead of its anticipated 2026 or 2027 IPO. ChatGPT remains the absolute leader in raw visits, but the multi-quarter trend of share contraction will become a recurring question for institutional investors. Google’s Gemini team gains a clean external validation point for the integration strategy. Anthropic’s growth dovetails with its B2B and consumer expansion. Smaller players — Perplexity, Copilot, DeepSeek, Grok — face the challenge that the web-traffic battle has effectively become a three-horse race between ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
What’s Next
Similarweb publishes monthly updates; the trajectory through summer 2026 will inform whether Gemini continues its current rate of gain or plateaus near 25–30%. OpenAI’s response — likely centred on consumer product expansion, GPT-5.5 capabilities, and the upcoming ChatGPT app refresh — will determine whether the share decline stabilises or continues. Apple’s Apple Intelligence routing decisions, particularly any shift away from ChatGPT (which Bloomberg reported on May 14 may be heading for legal dispute), could materially affect ChatGPT’s iOS-driven web-traffic share in subsequent quarters.
