ChatGPT faced tough competition from Claude, Gemini, Perplexity in 2025: Cloudflare

Generative artificial intelligence services saw intensified competition in 2025, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT maintaining its position as the most widely used platform while facing growing pressure from rivals such as Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini and Perplexity, according to data from Cloudflare’s Radar year-end review.

ChatGPT, which helped propel generative AI into mainstream use following its late-2022 launch, remained the top-ranked service in the category for a second consecutive year. However, Cloudflare data showed that several all-purpose competitors gained momentum as the year progressed.

Claude recorded one of the strongest performances, rising from the lower end of the top 10 early in the year to the number two position on most weekdays during July and August, reflecting its enterprise-focused usage patterns. Google’s Gemini, which began 2025 outside the top 10, climbed steadily and overtook Claude in mid-September, holding the second spot on most days thereafter and finishing fourth in the year-end weighted ranking.


Perplexity advanced to third place from September onward. Meanwhile, Elon Musk-led xAI’s Grok entered the top 20 in February and reached ninth by the end of the month. Chinese chatbot and open-source model developer DeepSeek made a rapid debut, jumping from outside the top 20 to third place in early February before stabilising between sixth and tenth for the rest of the year.

Cloudflare observed clear usage patterns, with ChatGPT and Claude dominating weekdays, indicating workplace adoption, while services such as Grok, Perplexity and DeepSeek performed more strongly on weekends.

Among coding assistants, GitHub Copilot improved its ranking to sixth place in 2025, while Windsurf AI, formerly Codeium, declined as broader consumer-facing chatbots gained popularity.

ByteDance’s Doubao, known internationally as Dola or Cici, gained traction outside China, ranking among the top generative AI services in various markets, including Australia, the UK and several African countries.

ChatGPT also continued its rise in Cloudflare’s overall internet services ranking, peaking at number 33 in late November, placing it ahead of platforms such as Reddit and Pinterest, and underscoring the rapid growth of generative AI.