Quick answer
This page covers eight AI platforms: Gemini, Google AI Overview, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot and DeepSeek. BrandWater AI tracks the first five at launch, with Claude and Copilot planned. In August 2026 ChatGPT held 55.5 percent of chatbot web traffic, Gemini 25.6 percent and Claude 9.3 percent, according to Similarweb.
| Platform | Developer | First released | Web traffic share, Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | OpenAI | November 2022 | 55.5% |
| Gemini | Google DeepMind | March 2023 as Bard, renamed Gemini in February 2024 | 25.6% |
| Claude | Anthropic | March 2023 | 9.3% |
| Perplexity | Perplexity AI | December 2022 | 0.9% |
| Copilot | Microsoft | February 2023 as Bing Chat, renamed Copilot in November 2023 | 1.6% |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek (China) | January 2025 | 3.4% |
| Google AI Overviews | Google Search | United States May 2024, India August 2024 | Inside Google Search |
| Google AI Mode | Google Search | United States March 2025 (Search Labs), India June 2025 | Inside Google Search |
Method note
How to use the table
The table gives the basic facts: who makes each platform, when it launched, and its share of worldwide website traffic for August 2026. It is a reference, not a ranking of quality. Use it to decide which platforms to include in a tracking set, then use each platform's own page for how it answers, how brands appear in it and what is known about usage in India.
Share of generative AI website traffic
Similarweb, worldwide website visits, August 2026 against August 2025. Website traffic only. It leaves out mobile apps and system-level entry points such as Android or Windows, so it understates assistants that live inside other products.
- ChatGPT55.5%vs 73.3%
- Gemini25.6%vs 12.9%
- Claude9.3%vs 1.9%
- DeepSeek3.4%vs 4%
- Grok2.4%vs 2.6%
- Copilot1.6%vs 2%
- Perplexity0.9%vs 2%
August 2026August 2025
What each platform is best understood as
| Platform | How it is best understood for brand work |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | The largest general assistant, with search that can cite sources |
| Gemini | Google's assistant, closely linked to Google Search and its AI features |
| Claude | A fast-growing assistant; in Anthropic's Indian sample, use skews toward software-related work |
| Perplexity | An answer engine that shows numbered citations on every response |
| Copilot | Microsoft's assistant, with public web answers grounded in Bing |
| DeepSeek | A Chinese model provider with a sizeable audience and limited public detail on brand selection |
| Google AI Overviews | AI summaries inside Google Search, with links to supporting pages |
Choosing where to start
- 1List the platforms your customers use, from your own analytics, surveys and sales conversations.
- 2Cross-check with the traffic shares above, remembering that they exclude apps and built-in entry points.
- 3Start your tracking with two or three platforms and go deeper before going wider.
- 4Add a platform when you have evidence that your customers use it or when a competitor's presence there worries you.
Google AI Overviews are separate
Reading platform data responsibly
Platform facts such as launch dates and developers are stable and easy to verify. Traffic shares are not. They are estimates from a third party, they change monthly, and they cover only website visits. Use the facts to orient yourself and the shares to notice direction, and avoid quoting a single share as if it were a permanent property of a platform.
When you cite these numbers in your own material, cite the source and the period, and say what the measure leaves out. That habit keeps your own reporting credible, and it is the same standard this site applies to its own figures.
Where can I read more about each platform?
Each platform has a page covering how it answers, how brands are listed, and usage worldwide and in India, with sources.
Which platform should I prioritise?
The one your customers use most, which you can learn from your analytics and from asking them. Global share is a starting point, not the answer.
Why is Google AI Overviews shown without a traffic share?
Because it is a feature inside Google Search, not a separate website, so chatbot traffic panels do not count it.
Sources
- 1. Similarweb, Gen AI website traffic share, August 2026 (via The Decoder) (Published 7 Sep 2026)
- 2. Similarweb on X, August 2026 update with the 12-month comparison (Aug 2026)
- 3. TechCrunch: Google's AI Overviews have 2B monthly users, AI Mode 100M in the US and India (Alphabet Q2 2025 earnings call, 23 Jul 2025)
Cite this page
BrandWater AI Research. (2026, 28 September 2026). Eight AI platforms at a glance: developer, launch, access and traffic share. https://brandwaterai.in/research/eight-ai-platforms-at-a-glance
How we work
Figures are dated and linked to their sources. Where none exist we say so. Read our methodology and AI transparency pages.