Google’s Gemini AI assistant reaches one billion users

Google's artificial intelligence assistant Gemini has reached a significant milestone, surpassing one billion monthly users, CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Tuesday. This achievement came just a week after a major reorganization of the tech giant's AI division. The milestone, calculated based on the number of people using the Gemini app across Google's ecosystem, positions Gemini as the 14th product to reach a billion users. CEO Pichai highlighted that Gemini is their fastest growing product ever.

The accomplishment is particularly noteworthy given the recent restructuring of Google's AI division. Demis Hassabis, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, recently stepped back from managing Google DeepMind, the lab responsible for designing Gemini models. Several leading researchers, including Jeff Dean, a key figure in the group's engineering efforts for nearly three decades, also left the company.

Despite these changes, Google remains focused on integrating AI into its ecosystem, from services like search and Gmail to Google Maps and YouTube.

Google's current flagship model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, initially expected for release in June, has yet to launch. Competitors have introduced models considered more powerful, especially in generating computer code, an area currently deemed highly lucrative. While Google's user base is critical as it integrates AI across its services, Google's rivals have made strides in the competitive AI landscape.

OpenAI, for instance, reported one billion users across all its interfaces, led by ChatGPT, in July, though they did not specify whether that figure is for monthly or weekly users. ChatGPT's launch in November 2022 marked the beginning of OpenAI's rapid user growth, building its base from scratch within four years.

The expanding user bases of competing AI assistants have contributed to a decrease in ChatGPT's market share for AI assistants to below 50 percent in the first half of the year, according to research firm Sensor Tower. Sensor Tower's estimates, based on company data, indicate a shift in the competitive landscape of AI assistants.