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Industry News | 9/1/2025

Google narrows ChatGPT lead as mobile AI market broadens

Google's Gemini has emerged as the leading challenger to OpenAI's ChatGPT, with four Google products ranking in the top 50 globally. The Andreessen Horowitz report tracks web and mobile usage, highlighting a surge in Chinese-developed mobile AI apps and a crowded field of competitors—ranging from Grok to Claude—that are reshaping the AI landscape.

Google presses the pace in a diversifying AI field

The generative AI space is at a turning point. What started as a burst of novelty is now maturing into a crowded, diversified market where multiple players chase a global audience. In Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) latest Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps ranking, OpenAI’s ChatGPT still leads in overall momentum, but Google is stepping up as a serious challenger with a multi‑app strategy that’s paying off in both web and mobile usage.

Google’s multi‑pronged AI push starts to show results

Think of Google’s approach like a quarterback spreading passes across the field. Instead of relying on a single app, Google is spreading its bets across Gemini, AI Studio, NotebookLM, and Google Labs. The report confirms for the first time that four distinct Google products crack the top 50 in the rankings, with Gemini occupying the second spot on both web and mobile.

  • Gemini’s web traffic sits at roughly 12% of ChatGPT’s volume, yet its user base is growing fast: visits rose from about 284 million in February to 700 million in July.
  • On mobile, Gemini isn’t miles behind ChatGPT—the gap is narrower than on the web, and its mobile audience is helped by a tight integration with Android, which accounts for roughly 90% of its mobile users.
  • Beyond Gemini, Google’s other AI tools are quietly building traction: AI Studio debuted in the top 10, NotebookLM sits at No. 13, and Google Labs ranks 39th on the web.

The pattern isn’t just about traffic numbers. It’s about a platform approach that makes Google’s AI stack feel like a family of products rather than a single hero. If you’ve got an Android device, you’re more likely to encounter an AI feature baked into your everyday flows—from documentation tools to creative assistants—without needing to hunt for a standalone app.

The broader battleground is getting crowded

ChatGPT still leads the pack, but the field is expanding in ways both expected and surprising. Elon Musk’s xAI Grok has shown explosive growth since its late‑2024 debut, climbing to the fourth web rank and 23rd on mobile, with more than 20 million monthly active users. The July Grok 4 release spurred a roughly 40% jump in usage, underscoring how rapid iterations can shift momentum in weeks rather than quarters.

Meanwhile, a number of early‑riser apps have cooled. DeepSeek, for example, saw a meaningful pullback—with around a 22% drop on mobile and a 40% decline on the web from its peak. Others like Perplexity and Claude have kept their heads above water by strengthening desktop experiences even as their mobile presence remains more modest.

Meta’s consumer AI efforts show the limits of brand power in the short term. Meta AI sits well outside the top tier on both web and mobile (46th on the web and missing the top 50 on mobile), with user trust and privacy concerns cited as a drag on growth.

The a16z study also spotlights a core cohort of 14 “All‑Star” companies—Character AI, Midjourney, ElevenLabs, and others—whose continued high placement across the rankings highlights the breadth of use cases—from social companionship to image and video creation.

A global reshuffle: Chinese developers take mobile AI by storm

A striking trend in this year’s rankings is the rising dominance of Chinese developers in mobile AI. Chinese firms now account for 22 of the top 50 mobile AI apps globally, a dramatic shift in the map of AI influence that’s been unfolding in real time.

  • ByteDance’s Doubao ranks highly on both mobile (No. 4) and web (No. 12), underscoring the strength of consumer‑grade AI experiences in China.
  • Alibaba’s Quark sits in the upper tier, showing strong web performance (No. 9) but slightly lower mobile visibility (No. 47).
  • Moonshot AI’s Kimi, a chatbot, makes a notable appearance at No. 17 on the web.

Many of these apps are tuned for the domestic Chinese market where global platforms such as ChatGPT face restrictions. Still, the trend is clearly globalizing: several Chinese firms are actively developing tools intended for a worldwide audience, reflecting a wider geographic spread of AI innovation.

Industries beyond chatbots—especially image and video editing—have benefited from this wave, aided by a robust research ecosystem and comparatively fewer IP constraints. The result is a world where the “global AI stack” looks less like a straight line from Silicon Valley and more like a web of regional centers collaborating and competing.

Looking ahead: a more vibrant ecosystem than a single winner

Taken together, the latest a16z rankings reflect a maturing, but still highly competitive, consumer generative AI market. ChatGPT remains a pace setter, but its lead isn’t guaranteed for the long haul. Gemini’s rapid gains—especially on mobile—show Google’s strategy of integrating AI across a broad set of apps, rather than chasing a standalone phenomenon.

Grok’s ascent demonstrates that there’s room for new platforms to reshape user behavior quickly when they ship features that feel novel or dramatically simplify tasks. At the same time, established players like Claude and Perplexity remind us that desktop experiences still matter for certain workflows, even as the mobile battle intensifies.

The emergence of a sizable cadre of All‑Star apps and the rapid ascent of Chinese mobile AI players together signal a global, multi‑speed AI era. It’s no longer about a single, dominant app; it’s about a diversified ecosystem where platforms compete across regions, use cases, and device types.

In short, the AI arms race has shifted from a sprint to a marathon where speed, integration, trust, and regional strategies all matter—and where China’s mobile AI wave is reshaping who gets to play and win.

Sources and notes

  • a16z Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps rankings and analysis of Gemini, AI Studio, NotebookLM, and Google Labs
  • Traffic metrics: Gemini web ~12% of ChatGPT; 284M Feb → 700M Jul; mobile nearly half of ChatGPT with Android driving ~90% of mobile users
  • Competitive landscape: Grok (4) growth; DeepSeek declines; Claude and Perplexity desktop strength; Meta AI struggles
  • All‑Star cohort of top 50; Chinese dominance with 22/50 mobile apps; examples include Doubao, Quark, Kimi

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