OpenAI’s (PC:OPAIQ) ChatGPT has reached 800 million weekly users, nearly three years after its release in late 2022, and in the midst of a heated battle with Alphabet’s Gemini 3 pro. The chatbot remains one of the most widely used digital tools worldwide and could reach one billion users by the end of this year. According to data from Pew Research, about one-third of U.S. adults and nearly 60% of people under 30 have used ChatGPT at least once. These numbers confirm its role in shaping how people use AI in work, study, and daily life.
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Google Raises the Stakes
Meanwhile, Alphabet (GOOGL) is raising pressure on OpenAI with the launch of Gemini 3 Pro. The new system, released in mid-November, now leads major benchmark tests with a score of 1324, compared with 1220 for OpenAI’s GPT-5.1. Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff even shared that he switched to Gemini 3 after using ChatGPT for three years, calling it faster and more capable in reasoning tasks. As a result, competition between Google and OpenAI is becoming more direct, and the balance of user attention may start to shift.
Inside OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman told staff to expect “challenging times” and possible financial strain. Although ChatGPT continues to grow, it faces new market realities as more rivals enter the space and as users seek practical value beyond novelty.
Technical Limits and Financial Strain
Despite its success, OpenAI still struggles with accuracy. A recent study from Deakin University found that one in five citations produced by ChatGPT is fabricated, while over half contain some form of error. The system also cannot learn on its own, which means it still falls short of what experts call true artificial general intelligence, or AGI.
Financially, OpenAI’s growth remains costly. The company posted a net loss of $13.5 billion in the first half of 2025, despite generating $4.3 billion in revenue. Forecasts suggest continued losses through 2028, reaching $74 billion before aiming for profit by 2030. At the same time, a study from MIT Media Lab found that 95% of firms see no measurable return from their AI spending, and employees spend 41% of their time checking and correcting AI results.
The Next Stage
Even with these hurdles, ChatGPT’s reach shows how far AI has moved into mainstream use. Both OpenAI and Google are setting the pace for the next phase of consumer AI, where speed, accuracy, and value will likely matter more than hype. As investors follow the sector, user adoption and financial efficiency will remain the key signs of who leads the next wave of innovation.
We used TipRanks’ Comparison Tool to align notable traded companies that employ chatbots similar to ChatGPT and Gemini. It’s an excellent tool to gain a broader perspective on each stock and the AI industry as a whole.
