ChatGPT now holds 82.6% of the global AI chatbot market, nearly five times its top five rivals combined. What does this mean for startups?
What’s happening: ChatGPT held 82.6% of the global AI chatbot market in July 2025, according to data presented by Jemlit.com analysing StatCounter figures, marking a nearly 3% increase from June.
Why this matters: For entrepreneurs and startups building AI products, ChatGPT’s market dominance presents a critical strategic challenge: how do you differentiate and compete when one platform commands over 80% of user mindshare?
The AI chatbot market is experiencing rapid consolidation, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT extending its dominance whilst competitors struggle to gain traction. New data reveals the extent of this imbalance and raises questions about competitive dynamics in the emerging AI industry.
According to data presented by Jemlit.com, ChatGPT holds 82.6% of the AI chatbot market in July 2025, based on StatCounter figures. The platform’s share increased by nearly 3% from June, reversing a decline that had seen it lose nearly 5% of market share between April and July.
ChatGPT’s five largest competitors, Perplexity at just over 8%, Microsoft Copilot at 4.59%, Google Gemini at 2.19%, DeepSeek at 1.63%, and Claude at 0.91%, collectively account for just 17.3% of the market. ChatGPT’s share is nearly five times larger than all five competitors combined.
Market consolidation accelerates
The July data reveals that ChatGPT is not merely maintaining its position but actively growing at the expense of competitors. Whilst ChatGPT gained nearly 3% in market share, four of its five largest rivals experienced declines during the same period.
Perplexity, which holds second position in the market, saw its share drop from 11% in June to just over 8% in July. Microsoft Copilot declined by 0.24 percentage points to 4.59%, whilst Claude slipped from 1.11% to 0.91%. Google Gemini remained flat at 2.19%.
DeepSeek was the only competitor to gain ground, rising from just over 1% in June to 1.63% in July. The Chinese chatbot’s growth suggests it is drawing users from other platforms rather than from ChatGPT.
For startups and entrepreneurs, these trends indicate a winner-takes-most dynamic rather than a fragmented competitive landscape. The data suggests that gaining market share requires not just technical capability but overcoming significant switching costs and embedded user behaviours.
Regional patterns emerge
Regional analysis reveals variation in ChatGPT’s dominance, though it commands majority share across all major markets.
Europe shows the strongest concentration, with ChatGPT holding 85.66% of the market in July, up 1.5 percentage points month-over-month. However, this represents a decline from the 90% share it held in April, suggesting some regional market opening despite overall consolidation.
In the United States, which hosts the largest number of active generative AI users globally, ChatGPT held 80.1% of the market in July, rising 2.2 percentage points from June. Asia recorded an even larger gain, with ChatGPT’s share jumping from 77.6% in June to 81.1% in July.
These regional differences may offer strategic opportunities for competitors. Markets where ChatGPT’s dominance is slightly weaker, or where share gains have been more modest, could indicate areas where alternative platforms have found product-market fit or where local preferences create differentiation opportunities.
The startup challenge
ChatGPT’s market position creates substantial challenges for startups building in the AI space. With over 80% of users already on one platform, new entrants face questions about market positioning, differentiation and addressable market size.
The data indicates that simply offering comparable functionality is insufficient. Despite backing from major technology companies, platforms like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini have failed to significantly erode ChatGPT’s lead. This suggests that brand recognition, user familiarity and ecosystem effects create powerful barriers to competition.
However, spending patterns tell a more nuanced story. Analysis of over 200,000 Mercury startup customers between June and August 2025 shows OpenAI secured the top position for AI spending, followed by Anthropic at number two and Perplexity at number 12, according to recent Dynamic Business reporting. This indicates that whilst ChatGPT dominates consumer usage, enterprise and startup spending is somewhat more distributed.
The venture capital implications are significant. Investors evaluating AI startups must assess not just technical capability but realistic paths to user acquisition in a market where one platform commands overwhelming mindshare. Startups may need to demonstrate clear differentiation in functionality, target market or business model to justify investment.
Differentiation strategies matter
The market data suggests several potential strategies for startups navigating ChatGPT’s dominance.
- Vertical specialisation: Rather than building general-purpose chatbots, focusing on industry-specific applications where deep domain expertise creates defensible advantages. This could include regulated industries, specialised professional services or markets with unique data requirements.
- API and infrastructure plays: Instead of competing for end-user mindshare, building developer tools, infrastructure or middleware that works across platforms. This approach acknowledges market consolidation whilst capturing value from the broader AI ecosystem.
- Enterprise and B2B focus: Targeting business customers with specific requirements around data privacy, customisation or integration that consumer-focused platforms may not prioritise. Enterprise buyers often have different decision criteria than individual users.
- Consumer-to-enterprise evolution: many businesses on the top enterprise AI spending list allow individual adoption without requiring enterprise licences, with eleven of twelve companies appearing on both consumer and enterprise rankings starting as individual products before evolving to offer team functionality. This product-led growth strategy enables startups to build user bases before moving upmarket.
The July data underscores that technical capability alone is insufficient. Platforms backed by technology giants with enormous resources have failed to significantly dent ChatGPT’s market position. Success will likely require not just better technology but fundamentally different value propositions that address unmet needs or underserved markets.
For entrepreneurs and startup founders, the message is clear: competing directly with ChatGPT for general-purpose chatbot users is an increasingly difficult proposition. Strategic differentiation, whether through vertical focus, business model innovation or targeted market selection, appears essential for building sustainable businesses in an AI market that shows strong consolidation dynamics.
The full story and statistics can be found here: https://jemlit.com/blog/chatgpt-market-share-surges-to-82-6-in-july/
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