The most searched AI chatbots in 2025: what the numbers say

Graziano Stefanelli
Jun 30
4 min read

Why AI Chatbots Are So Popular Now

In just a couple of years, AI chatbots have gone from niche tech to household names. People use them for answering questions, summarizing articles, helping with schoolwork, coding, or simply having a conversation. This huge popularity is reflected in the enormous search volumes for these bots. Whenever someone wants to try the latest features, fix a problem, or see if there’s a better alternative, they usually start with a Google search.

ChatGPT: The Clear Global Leader

ChatGPT is, by far, the most searched AI chatbot anywhere in the world. Every month, the word “chatgpt” is typed into Google about 618 million times. That’s an astonishing number—putting it among the very top Google searches globally, not just for tech or AI, but for anything. People use search to find ChatGPT’s website, get help with prompts, learn about new features, or read news about updates and controversies. ChatGPT’s popularity comes from being early to market, easy to use, and always at the center of media attention.

Gemini: Google’s Push Into Conversational AI

Gemini, Google’s main chatbot (previously called Bard), is quickly gaining recognition. The word “gemini” gets about 45 million Google searches each month. That’s a huge number—making Gemini the second most-searched AI chatbot in the world. Some of those searches are about other things (like horoscopes or crypto), but a growing share are people looking for Google’s AI. Gemini benefits from Google’s brand, integration with other Google services, and constant updates. It’s a top choice for users who trust Google or want a more “Google-like” AI experience.

Microsoft Copilot: Powering Work and Productivity

Microsoft Copilot is now getting nearly 10 million searches a month. While that’s much less than ChatGPT or Gemini, it’s still a massive number for a tool that’s just started to get noticed by the mainstream public. Many of these searches come from people using Microsoft 365 apps, looking for ways Copilot can help with Excel, Word, or Outlook, or searching for coding assistance. Copilot’s tight integration with Windows and Office makes it especially interesting for people who already use Microsoft’s software daily.

Perplexity AI: The Fastest-Growing Contender

Perplexity AI might not have the name recognition of Google or OpenAI, but it’s quickly building a reputation as a reliable, transparent chatbot. There are now around 3.6 million searches a month for “perplexity ai,” and the number is growing fast—up more than 70% over the last year. People are drawn to Perplexity’s ability to cite sources, summarize complex topics, and handle web-based questions. It’s especially popular with students, researchers, and anyone who wants a clear, source-backed answer.

Claude AI: Quietly Building an Audience

Claude AI, created by Anthropic, gets fewer searches than the giants but is steadily rising in popularity. While exact search volumes are lower (hundreds of thousands per month), Claude is seeing a surge in interest thanks to its unique features—especially its long memory, ability to process big documents, and a reputation for safe, “friendly” conversation. As more users look for alternatives to ChatGPT, Claude’s following is expected to keep growing.

Search Volumes vs. Actual Usage: What’s the Difference?

It’s important to understand that search numbers and website visits aren’t the same thing:

Search volume tells us how many times people type the name of a chatbot into Google.
Website visits include people going straight to the chatbot’s site, using bookmarks, or accessing it from an app.

For example, ChatGPT’s website gets over 5 billion visits each month, far more than just the search queries. Other bots, like Gemini or Perplexity, also get millions of monthly visitors, which shows how many people actually use these services regularly—not just search for them.

Usage Numbers: How Many People Are Actually Using These Chatbots?

While search numbers reveal curiosity and brand awareness, usage numbers (measured in monthly site visits or active users) show which chatbots are truly capturing attention and engagement. Here’s a breakdown using the most recent, publicly available data:

ChatGPT: With over 5 billion website visits per month, ChatGPT is not just the most searched, but also by far the most used chatbot. This figure includes people accessing it via the web, apps, and even integrations into other products. ChatGPT’s user base is massive, spanning students, professionals, and everyday users across the globe.
Gemini (Google): Gemini’s website (gemini.google.com) attracts around 284 million visits per month. While this is much less than ChatGPT, it still makes Gemini the #2 AI chatbot in terms of active usage. The real number is likely even higher when you consider access from Google Search or mobile apps where Gemini is now embedded.
Perplexity AI: Perplexity’s web platform sees about 160 million monthly visits—a huge increase from just a year ago. The platform’s rapid growth is fueled by word-of-mouth, constant product improvements, and the appeal of its web-sourced, citation-based answers.
Claude AI: The site for Claude (claude.ai) brings in approximately 119 million visits per month. This is particularly impressive since Claude’s access is still restricted in some regions and it doesn’t have the same level of media exposure as its bigger rivals.
Microsoft Copilot: Public estimates for Copilot’s standalone site are lower (about 9 million organic visits per month), but this figure doesn’t include the millions of users accessing Copilot features embedded in Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook, or through Windows 11. If you include all those users, Copilot’s total reach is much, much higher—potentially in the hundreds of millions.

These usage numbers paint a clear picture: while ChatGPT dominates both in search interest and real usage, the overall AI chatbot market is getting more crowded, with Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Copilot all rapidly gaining traction and large communities of their own.

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