The previous chart highlighted user engagement, showing that DeepSeek and Gemini are making significant strides.
But this chart takes a different angle—looking at total time spent—and the conclusion is strikingly different.
ChatGPT commands a whopping 68% of the total time!
When you add up the time spent across all AI products, nearly 70% of that time is dedicated to ChatGPT. Since May 2023, this share hasn’t just been maintained; it’s actually grown.
In mid-2023, ChatGPT's share was around 30-40%. Now it’s at 68%.
With more players entering the market, the leading brand’s share has surprisingly increased. This is quite rare in the world of internet products.
So, what about the other players?
Gemini comes in second with 16%, leveraging Google's ecosystem to drive traffic, so that figure isn’t shocking.
Character.AI follows with 7%, ranking third. This role-playing chat product boasts a highly engaged user base, with many young users spending hours on it daily.
The rest—DeepSeek, Claude, Perplexity, Grok—together account for less than 10%.
Wait a second, didn’t DeepSeek have the highest user engagement?
That’s right! In the previous chart, DeepSeek users averaged 25 minutes per day, surpassing ChatGPT's 18 minutes. But the issue is the user base size is vastly different.
Think of it like this: a small noodle shop has an average spend of $15 per customer, while a fast-food chain has an average spend of $5. Yet, the fast-food chain’s total revenue is several times that of the noodle shop.
DeepSeek's core users are incredibly loyal, but the total number just doesn’t compare to ChatGPT.
The harsh reality this chart reveals is that:
The AI market isn’t diversifying; it’s consolidating.
While everyone talks about a flourishing AI landscape, user time is a limited resource. When 68% of that time is concentrated on one product, it’s not just "intense competition"; it’s a clear sign of a winner-takes-all scenario.
Is Claude’s product experience good? Yes. Is DeepSeek cost-effective? Absolutely. Does Gemini have ecosystem advantages? For sure.
But user time doesn’t lie.
In the AI space, once brand recognition is established, the window for a comeback is much smaller than one might think.
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