Gemini passed a billion users and pushed ChatGPT's global share below half, but in Australia ChatGPT still holds about two thirds of chatbot use and Gemini sits near 7%. Optimising AI visibility for the global winner can mean building for a tool most local buyers are not using. Weight your effort to the Australian split.
The Take: Google's Gemini just passed a billion users and knocked ChatGPT's global share below half, but Australia has not read the same script. Here ChatGPT still owns roughly two thirds of AI chatbot use while Gemini sits in single digits. Optimising your brand's AI visibility for whatever wins the global headline is a good way to aim at the wrong assistant.
Zoom out: Gemini reached one billion monthly users, its fourteenth Google product to hit that mark, according to TechCrunch. Globally, ChatGPT's share of AI assistant use has slipped below 50% for the first time as Gemini climbs toward the high twenties. Gmail took about 14 years to reach a comparable scale, which shows how fast this adoption curve is moving.
The local angle: The Australian picture is different. As of mid 2026 ChatGPT held about 67.7% of Australian AI chatbot share, with Microsoft Copilot second near 14% and Gemini around 7%, per roi.com.au. Around 58% of Australians now use an AI tool monthly and roughly 5.2 million reach for one every day, so this is not a niche audience.
ChatGPT's share of Australian AI chatbot use, more than nine times Gemini's local share of about 7%
The trade-off: Chasing whichever assistant is winning globally means you can spend effort making your brand legible to a tool most of your Australian buyers are not using. Copilot's local strength, sitting second here, means Microsoft's assistant deserves more attention than its global profile suggests. The assistants also draw on different sources, so being the answer inside one is no guarantee inside another.
For Australian operators: Check which assistants your own customers actually use before you build for any of them. Ask at intake, watch your referral data and weight your effort to the Australian split rather than the global one. Make your brand easy to quote, with clear claims and named facts on your own pages, because that is what every assistant leans on regardless of which one leads. Revisit this every quarter, because the Australian split is moving and a snapshot from six months ago is already stale and may point you at the wrong assistant.