Gemini might be gaining on ChatGPT in terms of popularity, but ChatGPT is still maintaining a sizable lead.
New data from SimilarWeb tracking leading generative AI apps on Android and iPhone for February 2026 paints a nuanced picture of the AI app landscape: one where Google’s Gemini is winning the downloads race, but OpenAI’s ChatGPT retains a commanding grip on actual usage.
Downloads: Gemini Pulls Ahead
According to the SimilarWeb data, Google Gemini recorded 101,152,470 app store downloads in February 2026, edging past ChatGPT’s 65,160,004 downloads. That’s a gap of roughly 36 million downloads in Gemini’s favor — a notable reversal from earlier in 2025, when ChatGPT had consistently led in this metric.
This isn’t the first time Gemini has pulled ahead of ChatGPT in app downloads. Gemini first overtook ChatGPT on this measure back in May 2025, riding a wave of momentum driven by the viral launch of its Nano Banana image generation model. Since then, Gemini has continued to build on its download momentum, growing 3x faster than ChatGPT over the second half of 2025 by web traffic measures as well.
MAUs: ChatGPT’s Lead Remains Enormous
Where the data tells a very different story is in Monthly Active Users (MAUs). ChatGPT recorded 591,687,466 MAUs in February 2026 — nearly four times Gemini’s 111,152,470. This gap underscores a fundamental challenge that Gemini has faced throughout its rise: converting downloads into habitual, daily engagement.
This pattern is consistent with what earlier SimilarWeb stickiness data has shown. ChatGPT’s DAU/MAU ratio has historically been 1.5x that of Gemini, suggesting that while Google’s platform excels at attracting new users, OpenAI’s product has a deeper hold on the habits of its existing base.
The Rest Of The Field
Beyond the top two, the data reveals a significant drop-off in both MAUs and downloads for the rest of the field.
Microsoft’s Copilot 365 sits in third place with 107,298,016 MAUs, though its download numbers (15,858,057) are far behind the top two — suggesting a user base that is largely enterprise-driven and sticky, rather than one actively acquiring new users at scale.
Grok, xAI’s chatbot, comes in fourth with 61,913,015 MAUs and 13,842,384 downloads. DeepSeek — which caused a stir earlier in 2025 with its efficient open-source models — records 53,169,556 MAUs but a comparatively modest 3,289,163 downloads, suggesting its initial wave of curiosity has settled into a stable but slower-growth phase.
Perplexity, the AI-powered search assistant, clocks in at 37,861,338 MAUs and 4,449,765 downloads. Claude, Anthropic’s assistant, rounds out the list with 31,640,471 MAUs and 5,338,782 downloads — though it’s worth noting that Claude had a significant moment earlier in 2026 when it briefly topped the App Store amid Anthropic’s high-profile standoff with the US government.
What This Means
The February 2026 data reinforces a trend that has been building for over a year: the generative AI market is no longer a one-horse race, but it’s far from settled. Gemini’s traffic share has surged past 20% for the first time, and its year-over-year traffic grew an extraordinary 643% in February versus ChatGPT’s 37%. Google’s deep integration of Gemini across Android devices, Google Workspace, and its broader ecosystem is clearly paying off in user acquisition.
But MAUs remain the more meaningful metric for platform dominance, and here ChatGPT’s lead is still decisive. The central question for the rest of 2026 is whether Gemini can convert its download momentum into the kind of deep daily engagement that has long defined ChatGPT’s competitive moat — and whether OpenAI can find a new growth catalyst before the gap in momentum becomes a gap in market share.