Contrary to popular narrative, Google's AI products have likely surpassed OpenAI in monthly users. By bundling AI into its existing ecosystem (2B users for AI Overviews, 650M for the Gemini app), Google leverages its massive distribution to win consumer adoption, even if user intent is less direct than visiting ChatGPT.

While ChatGPT is still the leader with 600-700 million monthly active users, Google's Gemini has quickly scaled to 400 million. This rapid adoption signals that the AI landscape is not a monopoly and that user preference is diversifying quickly between major platforms.

Surprisingly, legacy websites like Yahoo and Microsoft Bing generate more traffic than ChatGPT. This isn't due to active user preference but the powerful, persistent effect of their position as default search engines and homepages in web browsers.

Google's latest AI model, Gemini 3, is perceived as so advanced that OpenAI's CEO privately warned staff to expect "rough vibes" and "temporary economic headwinds." This memo signals a significant competitive shift, acknowledging Google may have temporarily leapfrogged OpenAI in model development.

As competitors like Google's Gemini close the quality gap with ChatGPT, OpenAI loses its unique product advantage. This commoditization will force them to adopt advertising sooner than planned to sustain their massive operational costs and offer a competitive free product, despite claims of pausing such efforts.

OpenAI is now reacting to Google's advancements with Gemini 3, a complete reversal from three years ago. Google's strengths in infrastructure, proprietary chips, data, and financial stability are giving it a significant competitive edge, forcing OpenAI to delay initiatives and refocus on its core ChatGPT product.

The future of search isn't just about Google; it's about being found in AI tools like ChatGPT. This shift to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) requires creating helpful, Q&A-formatted content that AI models can easily parse and present as answers, ensuring your visibility in the new search landscape.

With 80-90% of AI-powered searches resulting in no clicks, traditional SEO is dying. The new key metric is "share of voice"—how often your brand is cited in AI-generated answers. This requires a fundamental strategy shift to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), focusing on becoming an authoritative source for LLMs rather than just driving website traffic.

While OpenAI leads in AI buzz, Google's true advantage is its established ecosystem of Chrome, Search, Android, and Cloud. Newcomers like OpenAI aspire to build this integrated powerhouse, but Google already is one, making its business far more resilient even if its own AI stumbles.