Tech platforms and social media have recently been abuzz with widespread discussions following leaks reported by U.S. newspapers about a “state of maximum alert” inside OpenAI, triggered by Google’s latest update to its AI chatbot.
OpenAI’s concerns were clearly reflected in an internal memo attributed to CEO Sam Altman, in which he warned of the growing threat posed by improvements to the rival chatbot and their potential impact on the company’s future.
This mobilization is not seen as a routine precaution, but rather a response to fierce competition with Google and its advanced model “Gemini 3,” which data suggests has begun to seriously challenge ChatGPT’s dominance.
According to figures from U.S.-based analytics firm Similarweb, the launch of Gemini 3 about two weeks ago led to a drop in ChatGPT’s weekly visits from 200 million to 191 million, a loss of around 12 million users—equivalent to roughly 6% of total traffic.
Meanwhile, expanded reports by digital economy specialist Sensor Tower indicate that ChatGPT’s user growth has started to slow, despite its continued global market leadership. In contrast, Gemini has seen rapid gains, achieving a 30% increase in monthly active users, along with a noticeable rise in average time spent on the app.
On the technical evaluation front, the global AI benchmarking platform LM-Arena ranked Gemini 3 at the top, outperforming all competitors, including ChatGPT—particularly in areas such as general reasoning strength and expertise.
Gemini stands out for its superior image and video understanding thanks to its multimodal model, as well as for delivering more precise, evidence-backed responses. It also offers broader free features and a lower price for its premium tier compared to rivals.
By contrast, ChatGPT continues to excel in response speed, its simple and intuitive conversational interface, and its ability to generate creative, more human-like text.
User reactions have been mixed. Social media monitoring by the program “Shabakat” highlighted a clear divide: some users praised Gemini’s scientific and analytical capabilities, while others remained loyal to ChatGPT for its speed, ease of use, and conversational fluency.
In response to Gemini’s strong rise, OpenAI is reportedly preparing its first countermeasure with the release of “ChatGPT 5.2,” expected in the coming days, in an AI chatbot market that is no longer a two-player race, as several other conversational AI applications recorded significant growth throughout 2025.
