Marina Lyubimova
⬤ ChatGPT is absolutely crushing it when it comes to daily user engagement, and the numbers aren't even close. Recent mobile app data shows ChatGPT is pulling in hundreds of millions of daily active users, while Gemini is still struggling to gain traction at a much smaller scale. Data from SensorTower, tracked from 2023 through January 2026, paints a pretty clear picture of how this race is playing out.
⬤ By early 2026, ChatGPT's app usage rockets past 400 million daily active users—a massive jump that's been building momentum throughout 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, Gemini's numbers stay stuck below 100 million during the same timeframe. The gap between them just keeps getting wider, which tells us this isn't just a temporary trend but a real difference in how people are choosing to engage with AI tools.
ChatGPT's continued expansion in daily usage reinforces its dominant position in the consumer AI app market.
⬤ Daily active users matter because they show who's actually opening and using these apps every single day, not just who downloaded them once and forgot about them. The data makes it obvious that ChatGPT has achieved way broader adoption and more frequent usage globally than Gemini. Both products are competing as all-purpose AI assistants, but the engagement levels are worlds apart. What's more telling is that Gemini's growth isn't showing any signs of speeding up enough to close this gap anytime soon.
⬤ This kind of sustained difference in app engagement shapes everything—brand visibility, ecosystem development, and long-term relevance in the AI space. ChatGPT's dominance in the consumer AI app market is only getting stronger, while Gemini faces a serious uphill battle to catch up based on current trends.
Marina Lyubimova
