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The most-used AI chatbots of 2026: ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude in numbers

Who leads among AI assistants according to Sensor Tower's 2026 report, and why did ChatGPT's share fall below 50%?

AI assistants are now used like any other app on your phone. So which one is used the most? Analytics company Sensor Tower’s State of AI Report for 2026, published in June 2026, answers that with numbers. The data covers the period up to the end of May 2026.

Who has what share?

Shares of AI assistant usage:

  • ChatGPT: 46.4%
  • Gemini: 27.7%
  • Claude: 10.3%
  • Grok, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI: each below 5%
AI assistant usage share

Through the end of May 2026, based on app usage

  • ChatGPT 46.4%
  • Gemini 27.7%
  • Claude 10.3%
  • Others 15.6%

Source: Sensor Tower, State of AI Report for 2026 (via TechCrunch). Others = the remainder to 100%; Grok, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI are each below 5%.

The most notable point is that ChatGPT’s share was above 50% until January 2026 and has now dropped below that level for the first time. It is still well ahead, but rivals are closing in fast.

Monthly active users

According to the same report, monthly active users are:

  • ChatGPT: more than 1.1 billion
  • Gemini: 662 million
  • Claude: 245 million
Monthly active users

Millions of users

ChatGPT1,100+
Gemini662
Claude245

ChatGPT's "more than 1.1 billion" is drawn as 1,100.

ChatGPT became the fastest app to reach 1 billion monthly users. A small note: OpenAI reports weekly rather than monthly active users on its side; its most recent figure was 900 million weekly users in February 2026.

Where do money and time go?

  • Time spent on AI apps in the first half of 2026 was about 36 billion hours, up from 17.2 billion a year earlier. The top three assistants take 89% of that time.
  • Spending on apps is estimated to have passed $4.2 billion, versus $1.83 billion in the first half of 2025.
  • 13% of Claude users pay for a subscription.
  • Ads in ChatGPT, which started in February 2026, were being shown to an average of 17% of daily users by May.
Time spent on AI apps

First half of 2025 and first half of 2026, billions of hours

H1 202517.2
H1 202636

Source: Sensor Tower.

Spending on apps

First half of 2025 and first half of 2026, billions of dollars

H1 20251.83
H1 2026 (estimate)4.2+

Source: Sensor Tower; the 2026 value is an estimate.

How should you read these numbers?

These are measurements based on app usage; website traffic, usage embedded in companies’ own tools and usage through APIs may be left out. So this answers “who is used more”, not “who is better”. The top three taking 89% of total time shows that usage is concentrated in a few assistants.

Another interesting detail: downloads of AI apps in Asia fell for the first time (3.3% in the first quarter of 2026), driven by China and India.

Conclusion

Three key takeaways: ChatGPT is still the leader but its share is eroding, Gemini holds a solid second place, and Claude has a smaller share but has reached 245 million monthly users, with 13% of them paying for a subscription. Which one suits you is decided by your own work, not by numbers; but reports like this are a good compass for seeing where each one is heading.

Sources