December 12, 2025

Model market share in Germany

Why ChatGPT’s monopoly is only half the picture when you factor in Google’s integrated AI layers.

Background

We are launching support for two new models: Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode.

Our customers asked if these are relevant enough to track compared to standard chatbots like ChatGPT. To answer this, we estimated the Monthly Active Users (MAU) for the major providers in Germany as of December 2025.

The Native LLM Chatbots

If you look strictly at standalone LLM chatbots like ChatGPT or Perplexity, the market is a monopoly. We calculated the market size based on organic traffic to these specific domains. In this view, the total addressable market in Germany is 26.63 million monthly active users (see Figure 1).

As Figure 2 below illustrates, ChatGPT dominates this space. It captures 82.6% of the native market share, leaving the rest to fight for single digits: Gemini sits at 8.0%, Perplexity at 4.1%, and DeepSeek at 3.0%.

The Hidden Shift: Google Search

The view above is accurate but incomplete. It ignores the fact that Google has moved from a link aggregator to an AI platform.

With AI Overviews (answers directly in search) and AI Mode (an integrated advanced model), Google has deployed LLMs to a massive existing user base that doesn't need to visit a separate website.

When we factor these integrated surfaces into the mix, the total market size jumps to 41.33 million users (see Figure 3).

As shown in Figure 4, ChatGPT's market share dilutes to 53.2% in this expanded view. Meanwhile, Google’s combined AI surface (AI Overviews + AI Mode) captures 35.6% of the total market. Notably, AI Overviews alone (26.9%) has a larger footprint than every other competitor combined, excluding ChatGPT.

Our Methodology

For native Models (ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.), we utilize Semrush organic traffic data to measure unique monthly visitors from Germany (1). This is a direct measurement of user intent.

Google AI Overviews (AIO) is not a destination; it is a search feature. To estimate its reach, we filter the total German internet population through Google's market share and the feature's display frequency:

Total internet users in Germany: 78.9 M (2)
Google Search market share (avg. mobile/desktop): 82.73% (3)
AIO display frequency: 17% (4)

For AIO, this yields 78.9 M x 82.73% x 17% = 11.0 M users.

Google AI Mode (AIM) AIM is Google's advanced, integrated model. Google reported 100 million active users across the US and India (5). We used this adoption rate as a proxy for Germany, adjusted for lower adoption due to a later rollout.

Internet users (US + India): 1.34 B (6)
Reported AIM adoption rate: 100 M/1.34 B = 7.55%
German baseline given adoption rate: 78.9 M x 7.55% = 6.00 M
Adjustment for lower adoption rate due to later rollout: -40%

For AIM, this yields 6.00 M x 60% = 3.60 M users in Germany.

Conclusion

While ChatGPT leads the AI Search war, Google’s integrated AI features have quietly captured over a third of the total market. AI Overviews alone now has roughly 10x the reach of Perplexity in Germany.

If your goal is to understand how people find information using LLMs, you cannot ignore these surfaces.

We added both models to the pulse platform today. If you want to start tracking them, please get in touch at info@gpt-pulse.com.

Best,
Jochen (Co-Founder & CEO)

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