Google's Gemini surges past 750M monthly users

Google is turning up the heat in the AI consumer wars.

During Alphabet’s Q4 2025 earnings call, the tech giant announced that its Gemini standalone app has officially crossed 750 million monthly active users (MAUs).

That marks a rapid jump from the 650 million MAUs Google reported just one quarter prior, adding 100 million active users in a matter of months.

Closing in on OpenAI, chasing Meta

To put that 750 million milestone into perspective, OpenAI’s ChatGPT sat at an estimated 810 million MAUs late last year. Gemini is now within striking distance of the generative AI pioneer.

However, both still trail Meta AI, which recently reported a staggering 1 billion monthly active users by leveraging its ubiquitous social footprint across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai credited the recent rollout of Gemini 3 as a major driver behind the spike. Pichai noted that Gemini 3 in AI mode provided an unprecedented level of depth and nuance that resonated with users.

Behind the consumer app, the underlying infrastructure is flexing heavy muscle. Pichai shared that Google's first-party models now process over 10 billion tokens per minute via direct customer API usage. Total search volume also hit an all-time high, while Alphabet crossed $400 billion in annual revenue for the first time.

To keep momentum going, Google also recently introduced a more budget-friendly tier called Google AI Plus at $7.99 per month. While too new to impact this quarter’s figures, chief business officer Philipp Schindler emphasized that balancing a robust free tier with accessible subscriptions is central to their playbook.

On the hardware front, Google also unveiled Ironwood, its latest generation of custom TPU AI accelerator chips designed to directly rival Nvidia.

Why it matters

Google’s growth proves that raw distribution combined with flagship-grade intelligence is nearly impossible to stop.

For everyday consumers, this battle is already paying dividends. The rollout of a $7.99 monthly plan effectively cuts the traditional $20 AI subscription tax in half, making frontier tools far more accessible for budget-conscious creators and casual users.

For the broader industry, the leaderboard shows how the landscape is bifurcating. OpenAI built an 800-million-user powerhouse almost purely on brand and execution. But now, hyperscalers like Meta and Google are weaponizing existing distribution channels to catch up.

Google's big advantage lies in full vertical integration: custom Ironwood silicon at the bottom, Gemini 3 in the middle, and billions of pre-existing mobile screens at the top. We think this allows Google to serve 10 billion tokens a minute at unit costs competitors will struggle to match. The question moving forward is whether these 750 million users stay deeply engaged, or whether they are simply tapping an AI widget built into their operating system.