Gemini boasts a billion monthly users. ChatGPT reached that milestone in June and subsequently raised the bar.

      Sundar Pichai revealed on Tuesday that the Gemini app has surpassed a billion monthly users, describing it as “our fastest growing product ever” and marking it as the 14th Google product to achieve this milestone, joining the ranks of Search, Gmail, Android, Maps, Chrome, Play, and YouTube. His announcement has garnered over 1.5 million views.

      Google shared the engagement statistics on its blog the same day. Much of the media coverage portrayed the achievement as Gemini narrowing the gap with ChatGPT, but metrics indicate otherwise.

      A billion monthly users and a billion weekly users are quite different. ChatGPT reached a billion monthly users on June 3, which we acknowledged as the quickest any app has achieved that number. Gemini hit the same milestone on August 11, exactly ten weeks later, based on the same metric.

      OpenAI has now confirmed this. Spokesperson Lindsay McCallum informed The Verge that ChatGPT “crossed 1 billion monthly users some time ago and reached a billion weekly users in July.” She didn't disclose the current monthly user count.

      We reported OpenAI exceeding a billion weekly users in late July, a target it had fallen short of by approximately seven months. Weekly active users are a more challenging measure than monthly users since they reflect habitual usage over mere curiosity. Gemini matched ChatGPT's achievement in August, while ChatGPT transitioned to this more rigorous metric in between.

      However, it should be noted that ChatGPT's growth has decelerated. The Verge pointed out a flaw in this narrative—ChatGPT had 900 million weekly users in February, and it took five months to gain the final hundred million. Google may be headed towards the same slowdown that OpenAI has encountered.

      The trends in user growth are more crucial than the milestones themselves. Gemini gained 50 million users in just two weeks, whereas ChatGPT added a hundred million in five months. While the metrics differ, the overall direction seems clear.

      What counts as a billion users is more specific than it appears. It tallies individuals who open the Gemini app or web interface, and it doesn't account for anything else. Ars Technica mentioned that anyone who utilized Gemini “only once in the past month” is included in that total.

      This figure also omits the primary channels where most users engage with Gemini. Google’s AI Mode in Search also surpassed a billion monthly users, according to TechCrunch. The model is integrated into Gmail, Docs, and Android as well. The number reported pertains solely to the standalone application.

      Nonetheless, the growth is substantial, as is the distribution. Gemini had 400 million monthly users in May 2025, 9to5Google notes, and Google announced 750 million in February. It reported over 950 million during its Q2 earnings call two weeks ago. Daily active users have tripled in one year.

      One caveat is the origin of those users. Gemini benefits from Android, Search, Chrome, and Workspace, four products that each already have a billion users. In contrast, ChatGPT required active searching. Comparing the two as if they started on equal footing favors Google.

      However, one statistic contradicts that, revealing the strongest number Google provided. Gemini has more than 100 million active users on iOS, where Google does not control distribution. Those users sought it out. Google further adds that macOS users prompt it about twice as frequently as users on other platforms.

      What these billion users are actually doing is noteworthy. Gemini now produces over 150 million images daily, each marked with SynthID. Approximately 63% of users prefer talking to it instead of typing. Google reports that parents are 43% more inclined than other users to utilize voice for daily tasks.

      One in five Gemini Live interactions now features a live camera feed or a shared screen, and about 38% of school-related inquiries include an attachment. On Android, the app automates actions across over 40 applications. This functionality positions it more as an assistant than merely a chat interface, differentiating it from OpenAI's offerings.

      An important figure is missing from Google’s announcement. A billion monthly users of a general assistant signifies a billion people receiving answers that previously came as links. Google has spent a year defending its AI Overviews against publishers concerning this very issue, as our reporting highlighted its impact on publisher traffic.

      Gemini operates similarly at a larger scale without the blue links at the bottom. Google has not disclosed how many Gemini answers direct users elsewhere, indicating that this omission is deliberate.

      The issues of user numbers and model quality are distinct, and Google is succeeding in one area. In July, we reported that the upcoming Gemini Pro had been delayed by months due to internal coding shortcomings. It was expected in June but has yet to be released. Google states it is still in testing.

      The company has already begun training Gemini 4, with a new leader named just as two of Gemini’s co-leads departed. Demis Hassabis stepped back