ChatGPT and Gemini both cross 1 billion users

ChatGPT and Gemini have both crossed 1 billion users. Google confirmed Gemini’s milestone this week; OpenAI’s figure arrived earlier this month, buried in a blog post about how people use AI.

Gemini’s milestone

Sundar Pichai posted on X that more than a billion people use Gemini every month, calling it Google’s fastest-growing product ever and the 14th Google product to reach the billion-user mark. Google said Gemini had 750 million monthly users in February, reported 950 million on its earnings call in late July, and passed a billion last week, according to spokesperson Alex Joseph.

1B+ people are now using @Geminiapp every month to spark new ideas and get things done. It’s our fastest growing product ever, and our 14th to hit the 1B-user mark.

Kudos to @JoshWoodward & the entire Gemini team, and thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with us -… pic.twitter.com/sSWrULX4Qn

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) August 11, 2026

ChatGPT’s quieter crossing

OpenAI wrote in a 6 August blog post that “more than 1 billion people are putting ChatGPT to work”. Spokesperson Lindsay McCallum says ChatGPT crossed 1 billion monthly users some time ago and hit a billion weekly users in July; external data from Reuters suggested the monthly milestone was reached as early as June. The company declined to give a precise monthly figure.

The growth curves differ. OpenAI said ChatGPT had 900 million weekly users in February, so reaching a billion five months later marks a slowdown for a product once billed as the fastest-growing software ever. Gemini moved from 750 million to a billion in under six months.

Both apps are free in the UAE, with paid tiers for heavier use. For a region building its AI economy, the milestone means the two chatbots people already use at work and at home are now firmly mainstream.

Which chatbot is bigger: ChatGPT or Gemini?

ChatGPT is still ahead. OpenAI says it crossed 1 billion monthly users before Gemini and hit a billion weekly users in July, though it declined to give a precise monthly figure. Gemini reached 1 billion monthly users this month.

What is Google’s fastest-growing product?

Gemini, according to Sundar Pichai. It is the 14th Google product to reach 1 billion users, joining Search, Android, Chrome, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and others.

Are ChatGPT and Gemini free to use?

Both have free tiers, with paid plans (ChatGPT Plus and Google AI Pro) adding features like faster models and higher usage limits. Both are available in the UAE on the web, iOS and Android.