Google announced on its Q2 2026 earnings call that its AI assistant Gemini now has over 950 million monthly active users, bringing it close to the one billion-user threshold already reached by several other Google products such as Search, Gmail, Drive, Android, YouTube and Chrome.
Growth and timeline
- According to the company, Gemini’s user base has tripled compared with a year earlier.
- In February, Google reported the Gemini app had surpassed 750 million monthly active users; the figure has since increased to over 950 million.
- By comparison, OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached 1 billion monthly active users in June.
Drivers of adoption
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told investors that users have responded positively to more agentic capabilities like Daily Brief and the personalized agent Gemini Spark, which is now available in the U.S. and internationally. Google said it has been releasing helpful new features at a rapid pace, citing these additions as a contributor to Gemini’s growth.
Platforms and distribution
Gemini has built a substantial presence not only on Android but also on iOS. Launches such as the Nano Banana image generation model have helped boost iOS adoption: according to Appfigures, the Gemini app was downloaded more than 137 million times on iOS in the past 12 months.
Market share and search integration
Sensor Tower’s latest “State of AI” report, covering H1 2026, found that ChatGPT’s market share among AI assistants fell below 50% for the first time, while Gemini’s share rose to 27.7%. The report highlights a shift in market dynamics among AI assistant apps.
At the same time, Google said its search vertical remains strong, in part due to an AI-focused overhaul. Google’s Q&A-style AI mode crossed 1 billion users this quarter, and the company reported that the feature is driving an “incremental increase” in search queries.
Costs and engineering
Google also stated that hardware engineering efforts have reduced the company’s cost of operating AI mode despite the rollout of new models and features. The company presented these efficiency gains as enabling expanded functionality without proportionally higher operating costs.
Conclusion
Gemini’s rapid user growth, expanding platform reach, and rising market share show Google gaining momentum in the AI assistant space. Combined with AI-powered changes to search and efforts to lower operating costs, the developments suggest AI-driven user interactions are becoming an increasingly important part of Google’s product ecosystem.
