US Google search interest in "claude ai" grew roughly 347% over the past 52 weeks and "google gemini" roughly 278%, against about 24.7% for "chatgpt". ChatGPT is still searched about 19 times as often as Claude, but its search interest peaked in September 2025 and has leveled off since.
Analysis of 262 weeks of US search interest in five AI assistants · Google Trends, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.US Google searches for "claude ai" grew roughly 347% in a year and searches for "google gemini" roughly 278%, against about 24.7% for "chatgpt".
- 2.ChatGPT is searched on Google about 19 times as often as Claude and about 13 times as often as Gemini in the US.
- 3.US Google search interest in ChatGPT averaged 75.7 over the last 52 weeks, 24.7% above the 60.7 of the 52 weeks before and more than three times the 23.7 of two years earlier.
- 4.US Google search interest in ChatGPT peaked the week of September 14, 2025, and the last four weeks sit 18.2% below the same weeks a year earlier.
- 5.Perplexity is the one AI assistant whose US Google search interest was flat year over year, at an average of 1 on a scale where ChatGPT averages 75.7.
Summary
When someone hears about an AI assistant and wants to try it, they usually type its name into Google. That makes Google search interest a running count of how many people are reaching for each tool. For five years, one name has dominated that count. Over the past year, the challengers started to move.
For a business, this decides where to check how its brand appears. Customers who ask an AI tool for a recommendation get their answer from whichever assistant they use, and each assistant cites and recommends differently. The faster a rival grows, the sooner it matters to your visibility.
US Google search interest in "claude ai" grew roughly 347% over the past 52 weeks, and "google gemini" roughly 278%, against about 24.7% for "chatgpt". ChatGPT remains far ahead, searched about 19 times as often as Claude and 13 times as often as Gemini, but its interest peaked in September 2025 and the last four weeks sit 18.2% below the same weeks a year earlier.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we collected weekly US Google Trends data for five AI assistant names, "chatgpt", "google gemini", "claude ai", "perplexity ai" and "microsoft copilot", covering 262 weeks from September 2021 to September 2026. All five terms were compared together, so they share one scale. We averaged each term over the latest 52 complete weeks and the 52 weeks before, calculated the change, and averaged each calendar year.
Google Trends does not report search counts. It reports interest on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 is the busiest single week for any of the five terms, and every other value is relative to that week. A term averaging 4 was searched about one twenty-fifth as much as that busiest week. Growth compares the average of the latest 52 weeks with the average of the 52 weeks before.
Claude and Gemini are growing fastest
Claude's average weekly interest rose from 0.9 to 4 over the past year, and Gemini's from 1.5 to 5.8, a rise of roughly 278%. ChatGPT grew about 24.7% over the same period. Microsoft Copilot rose slightly, from 0.8 to 1.1, and Perplexity was flat at around 1.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 262 weeks of US search interest in five AI assistants · Google Trends, September 2026
| Search term | Average, last 52 weeks | Average, prior 52 weeks | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| chatgpt | 75.7 | 60.7 | +24.7% |
| google gemini | 5.8 | 1.5 | +278% |
| claude ai | 4 | 0.9 | +347% |
| microsoft copilot | 1.1 | 0.8 | up |
| perplexity ai | 1 | 0.9 | flat |
The yearly averages show how recent the challengers' climb is. Gemini averaged 1 in 2024, 2.7 in 2025 and 6.1 so far in 2026. Claude went from 0.2 in 2024 to 1.1 in 2025 and 5.1 in 2026, overtaking both Perplexity and Copilot. In the most recent weeks, from August 9 to September 13, 2026, Gemini ranged from 5 to 7 and Claude from 3 to 4.
ChatGPT still dwarfs every rival on Google
Fast growth from a small base still leaves a small number. Over the last 52 weeks ChatGPT averaged 75.7 on the shared scale, against 5.8 for Gemini and 4 for Claude. ChatGPT is searched about 13 times as often as Gemini and 19 times as often as Claude, and its weekly interest in recent weeks ranged from 67 to 81.
For most people, "AI" still means ChatGPT. When a customer asks an AI assistant which company to hire or which product to buy, the odds are that the assistant is ChatGPT, and that is where a brand's AI visibility is decided first.
ChatGPT tripled in two years, then leveled off
ChatGPT's average weekly interest was 23.7 two years ago, 60.7 in the following 52 weeks and 75.7 in the latest 52 weeks, more than three times where it stood two years earlier. By calendar year, it grew about 40% from 2023 to 2024 and more than doubled in 2025.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 262 weeks of US search interest in five AI assistants · Google Trends, September 2026
The climb has stopped. ChatGPT's search interest peaked the week of September 14, 2025, at 100 on the scale, and the 2026 average of 72.9 is almost identical to 2025's 73.5. The last four weeks averaged 76, 18.2% below the same weeks a year earlier. ChatGPT is no longer adding new searchers week after week; it is holding a very large audience.
What this means for marketers
Keep ChatGPT first. It is still where most people go when they think of AI, so start any AI visibility check there: ask it the questions your customers ask and see whether your brand is named and cited.
Then add the assistants that are growing. Gemini, which shares its models with Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews, and Claude grew several times over in a year, and each chooses sources differently. Track at least three assistants, ChatGPT, Gemini and one fast-growing challenger, and fix the gaps where your brand is missing. Working with an ai seo company that tracks brand visibility across all the major AI assistants shows you where the gaps are.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-google-search-interest">Google Searches for Claude Grew Roughly 347% in a Year vs 24.7% for ChatGPT - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). Google Searches for Claude Grew Roughly 347% in a Year vs 24.7% for ChatGPT. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-google-search-interest
Google Searches for Claude Grew Roughly 347% in a Year vs 24.7% for ChatGPT - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-google-search-interest
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