Follow ZDNET: Add us as a favorite source On Google.
ZDNET Highlights
- Visits to Gemini.google.com have doubled over the past year.
- Web traffic to other chatbots has declined or remained stable.
- Users say Gemini excels at routine tasks and app integration.
visit to gemini.google.com – Web domains for Google’s flagship AI chatbot – have more than doubled over the past year new data From data aggregation company SimilarWeb.
SimilarWeb found that Gemini webpages now account for 12.9% of total web traffic to online generator AI tools, up from 6.4% in 2024.
Also: ChatGPT was down on Thursday – what we know about the outage
The data also shows that ChatGPT web usage outweighs other major chatbots, representing about 74% of total chatbot web traffic. But that number is down from a year ago, when it was about 87% — indicating a possibly looser grip on the market as more conversational AI chatbots join the market, and competitors like Google and Anthropic expand their AI offerings.
According to SimilarWeb, xAI’s Grok has seen a slight decline in traffic over the past six months (from 3.1% to 2%), while Microsoft Copilot’s traffic has remained almost stable (currently representing 1.2% of total traffic).
Methodological limitations
However, SimilarWeb acknowledges that its measurement methodology is imperfect, as visits to a chatbot’s primary web address do not necessarily reflect usage across the board.
In the case of Google, Gemini has been embedded into many of the company’s AI tools, including AI Overview, which has become a core feature within its search engine. Therefore, measuring visits to Gemini.google.com probably represents only a small slice of a much larger pie.
Also: 5 reasons why I use local AI on my desktop – instead of ChatGPT, Gemini or the cloud
“Comparing Gemini with ChatGPAT on this standalone basis is misleading because it does not take into account Google’s broader AI initiatives,” SimilarWeb spokesperson David Carr told ZDNET via email. “We are working on breaking down (Gemini’s) contribution to Google Search, but it is more challenging to take into account both AI overview and AI mode.”
To determine a more complete picture of the most popular AI chatbots, you also need to look at app downloads and active user numbers.
What Gemini has to offer compared to other chatbots
Still, the increase in web traffic to Gemini’s website is impressive, especially compared to the decline or stagnation of similar tools. What is the reason for such dramatic increase?
When ZDNET asked users about Gemini’s special strengths compared to other chatbots, many users highlighted its usefulness across a wide range of tasks – even though its competitors excel in more specific domains.
Also: Spend too much time scheduling meetings? This feature of Gemini can save you from trouble
“Compared to Gemini, ChatGPT and Cloud are more helpful in intensive writing and brainstorming, but for fast and everyday tasks, Gemini is unrivaled,” says Baruch Labunsky, founder of SEO company Rank Secure. “It’s true that Gemini is not perfect…yet, for everyday organization and routine tasks, I find myself relying on Gemini the most.”
Similarly, Jenny K. Pollock, co-founder of Women
“Each foundation model has its own strengths,” he told ZDNET. “ChatGPT for creativity, the cloud for depth, and Gemini for integrated, multimodal work.” (Note: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image is available through the Gemini website, but NotebookLM is a separate platform, so Gemini’s popularity cannot be directly linked to the website’s traffic surge over the past year.)
Also: Beware of promptware: How researchers broke into Google Home via Gemini
Other users also noted the integration factor, noting that Gemini’s key strength is the fact that it can seamlessly get their personal data into Google’s suite of other apps.
“The fact that[Gemini]integrates with tools like Gmail or Google Docs means my workflow from research to content creation is much more fluid,” says Michael Pedrotti, co-founder of Ghostcap, a company that provides video game server hosting and supports the online gaming community.
Labunsky reiterated that point: “Gemini is seamless within my ecosystem of Google services,” he says. “The ability to seamlessly integrate with Gmail, Drive, and Docs means I don’t have to resort to multiple apps to get things done.”
Also: Google’s new Jules tool is great – how I’m using it and other Gemini AI CLIs
Other tech developers are also becoming more interested in integrating their flagship AI chatbots with popular personal and workplace productivity services. For example, earlier this month, Microsoft announced that its Copilot AI assistant can connect to and extract information from users’ personal accounts on Outlook, Google Drive, Gmail, and other apps.
Want more stories about AI? Sign up for our AI leaderboard Newsletter.
