Which AI apps are people actually using? Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capital firms, has just published the sixth edition of its Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps report.
ChatGPT Is Still Dominant, But the Race Is On
ChatGPT is still the biggest consumer AI product by a significant margin. On the web, it is 2.7 times larger than Gemini in monthly traffic. On mobile, 2.5 times larger. Weekly active users have grown by 500 million people over the past year, reaching 900 million. That means more than 1 in 10 people on earth now use ChatGPT every week.
But the race for the default AI is now on. Gemini and Claude are growing fast. Claude’s paid subscriber base grew by over 200% year on year. Gemini grew by 258%. And about 20% of regular ChatGPT users are also using Gemini in the same week. People are not picking one AI and stopping there. They are building their own multi-tool workflows.
Here is something that marks a genuine shift in this sixth edition of the report. For the first time, a16z has broadened its rankings to include tools that were not originally built as AI products, such as Canva, Notion, Grammarly, CapCut, Picsart, and Freepik. These are platforms millions of professionals already use every day. They did not wait to be disrupted. They rebuilt themselves around AI.
The Notion example is one worth mentioning. Half of Notion’s new annual recurring revenue is now driven by AI-first features.
Platform Strategy: It Is Not Just About the Model
ChatGPT has built an ecosystem of over 220 apps across 13 categories: travel, shopping, food, health and wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment. Claude’s integrations, by contrast, skew heavily professional: financial data, developer tools, medical and science platforms. Very different strategies, both deliberate.
What this tells us is that the best AI is not necessarily the smartest one. It is the one that fits into the workflows people already have. Every time someone uses an AI tool to book a trip, plan a meal, or manage a project, they are building a habit. And habits are far more valuable than benchmark scores.
Specialist Tools Are Holding Their Ground
While the generalist platforms dominate the top of the rankings, specialist tools are proving they have a place. Suno, the AI music generator I covered back in EP 335, held its position at number 15. ElevenLabs, with its voice capabilities, has appeared in every edition of this report since September 2023. These tools are not trying to be everything. They solve specific problems better than any generalist model can.
The Global Picture: AI Is Fragmenting by Region
There is a geopolitical story in this data that most Western organisations are not paying close enough attention to. Chinese AI apps – DeepSeek, Kimi, and Alibaba’s Qwen – are rising fast in the global rankings. Yandex’s browser, which integrates an AI assistant called Alice, has reached 71 million monthly active users, making it a top ten mobile AI product globally. Russia and China are developing their own AI ecosystems, with their own values, their own guardrails, and their own competitive dynamics.
If your organisation operates across borders or works in any area touched by geopolitics, you need to be thinking about this. The assumption that Silicon Valley sets the rules for AI everywhere is no longer accurate.
The most important finding in this report is not who is winning. It is where the battle is moving. A year ago, the conversation was about which model was smartest. Now it is about which platform becomes structurally embedded in your life and your work. Context compounds. The more an AI knows about how you work, the harder it is to switch. That is where the real competitive advantage is being built.
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Sources & References
Primary Source
a16z Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps — 6th Edition (March 2026)
Supporting Source
a16z Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps — 5th Edition (September 2025)
ChatGPT 900M weekly active users
Notion ARR and AI features
Paid subscriber growth data (Yipit Data) — cited in a16z report
Claude: 200%+ YoY growth in paid subscribers. Gemini: 258% YoY growth. (Source: Yipit Data, as of January 2026, cited in a16z report)
Key Statistics
ChatGPT web traffic: 2.7x larger than Gemini (monthly visits, January 2026) — a16z / SimilarWeb
ChatGPT mobile: 2.5x larger than Gemini (monthly active users, January 2026) — a16z / Sensor Tower
ChatGPT weekly active users: 900 million (up 500 million in one year) — TechCrunch / a16z
Claude paid subscriber growth: 200%+ year on year — Yipit Data via a16z
Gemini paid subscriber growth: 258% year on year — Yipit Data via a16z
Multi-tenanting: ~20% of weekly ChatGPT web users also use Gemini in the same week — a16z
Notion AI: now accounts for ~50% of new annual recurring revenue — Forbes / a16z
ChatGPT ecosystem: 220+ apps across 13 categories as of late February 2026 — a16z
Yandex/Alice: 71 million monthly active users, top 10 mobile AI globally — a16z
Suno: ranked #15, held position from previous edition — a16z
ElevenLabs: featured in every a16z edition since September 2023 — a16z
About the Podcast Host
AI and Communications Specialist | Author | Podcaster | International Speaker
Joanne Sweeney is a recognised leader in digital marketing and digital transformation, specialising in the practical application of AI to enhance communication strategies. The founder of Digital Training Institute, Joanne, empowers leaders and communications professionals to leverage AI responsibly and effectively, ensuring transparency, trust, and tangible results.
She completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Programme in AI and Public Policy this summer before launching her fourth book AI Playbook, in September. Joanne has also published two editions of Public Sector Marketing Pro, which were preceded by her first title, Social Media Under Investigation Law Enforcement and the Social Web.
Her books have become go-to resources for governments, public sector and policing agencies, as well as marketing and communications professionals, all navigating the challenges of the changing Internet.
Joanne is the host of the AI SIX Podcast, a daily six-minute podcast that provides actionable insights, expert interviews, and practical advice to help professionals navigate the new world of work.
