A variety of popular generative AI platforms are experiencing steady growth as users discover new ways to utilize these tools, with ChatGPT leading the charge, amassing an impressive 3.7 billion visits globally. The AI chatbot’s popularity is approaching that of web browsers, rivaling Google Chrome, which is estimated to have around 3.45 billion monthly users.
According to data from Similarweb, ChatGPT recorded a remarkable 17.2% growth month-over-month (MoM) and a staggering 115.9% increase year-over-year (YoY) in traffic. Key factors contributing to the surge in ChatGPT’s popularity in 2024 include its parent company, OpenAI, transitioning its web address from a subdomain (chat.openai.com) to a main domain (chatgpt.com). Notably, the platform experienced a significant spike in traffic in May 2024, reaching 2.2 billion visits, and this trend has continued, as noted by Similarweb researcher David F. Carr.
Since its initial launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has established a notable presence in the tech sector. OpenAI has been actively enhancing the platform with new versions and features to keep users engaged. Recently, the company introduced ChatGPT Search, an internal search engine that provides users with real-time answers to a variety of queries, including sports scores, breaking news, and stock quotes.
Interestingly, ChatGPT has evolved to offer services similar to those of Google Search, which it was initially intended to compete with. However, users still depend on web browsers to access the platform. In contrast, Google Chrome, which commands a significant market share, boasts around 35.4 billion users in 2024. It has shown minimal year-over-year growth but has achieved an impressive 45.35% increase over the last five years, according to Statscounter.
In recent developments, OpenAI has acquired the domain name Chat.com, though details on future plans for this asset remain unclear. Meanwhile, other AI tools are also experiencing traffic growth, albeit not at the same magnitude as ChatGPT. Despite facing plagiarism allegations, the Perplexity chatbot attracted 90.8 million visits in October, reflecting a 25.5% MoM increase and a remarkable 199.2% YoY rise. Google’s Gemini Chatbot recorded 291.6 million visits in October, with a 6.2% MoM growth and 19% YoY increase following a recent ChromeOS update that introduced new AI capabilities to Chromebooks.
Anthropic’s Claude chatbot tallied 84.1 million visits in October, equivalent to a 25.5% MoM gain and an impressive 394.9% YoY growth after the launch of a desktop application for Windows and macOS. Microsoft’s web-based Copilot website garnered 69.4 million visits in October, showcasing an 87.6% MoM increase. Lastly, NotebookLM reported 31.5 million visits in October, achieving over 200% MoM growth. This note-taking, document, link, and content collection app, built on Google’s generative models, enables users to process and summarize various information formats using AI prompts.