Google Gemini just saw a 46% spike in traffic – but ChatGPT still has the most loyal users

• Gemini visits are up 46% since August according to Similarweb
• The backlash over ChatGPT’s safety features might be helping Gemini sign ups
• ChatGPT maintains by far the most loyal user base amongst AI fans

The latest figures from Similarweb show that traffic to Google Gemini is surging to 1.1 billion visits a month, up a massive 46% since August.

The rise in popularity of Gemini seems to be coming at the expense of ChatGPT. The traffic share figures from Similarweb for AI chatbots a month ago showed ChatGPT on 78%, Gemini second on 9.1% and DeepSeek in third place on 4%. But by October 3, ChatGPT traffic share was down to 73.8%, Gemini was up to 13.7%, and DeepSeek had a slight dip at 3.9%.

The GPT backlash

It’s quite likely that OpenAI is inadvertently helping Google’s numbers surge because of the continued backlash against its recently introduced safety measures, which switch users to a special model called GPT-5 Instant, if the chatbot detects that the user is in distress.

Explaining its actions in an X post from October 3, OpenAI wrote: “We’re updating GPT-5 Instant to better recognize and support people in moments of distress. Sensitive parts of conversations will now route to GPT-5 Instant to quickly provide even more helpful responses. ChatGPT will continue to tell users what model is active when asked.”

The move comes as part of ChatGPT’s new approach to supporting users in crisis and offering improved parental controls.

A number of ChatGPT's users however seem furious that the mechanism used to detect when a conversation has drifted into a sensitive area is too easily triggered, disrupting their use of a product they’re paying for.

“No one wants your nanny mode; let adults make their own choices!” wrote Claire on X.com, reflecting the mood amongst a lot of ChatGPT users. “Today, when I was discussing my creation with 4o, I was routed to safety mode again. I had to delete and revise my input just to keep the conversation going with the model I chose."

Staying loyal

Despite the backlash to ChatGPT’s new ‘nanny mode’, it turns out that ChatGPT users are far more loyal to the platform than its competitors are.

When comparing loyalty amongst AI users, Similar web found that ChatGPT had by far the most loyal user base, with a massive 82.2% of its users visiting no other GenAI site. Gemini is in second place, but still a long way behind on 49.1%, with Grok (35.6%), Perplexity (33.1%), and Claude (18%) next.

While the recent rise in Gemini traffic is cause for Google to celebrate, it still has a long way to go before it gets close to knocking ChatGPT off its perch as the world’s favorite GenAI tool.

ChatGPT's online presence continues to dominate the GenAI market according to Similarweb, with 5.9 billion visits in September compared to Gemini's 1.1 billion. ChatGPT.com was the fifth most popular website on the Internet in September and the only chatbot to make the top 10.

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