ChatGPT remains the most used generative AI tool in the world, both on the web and on mobile, but Claude has now climbed onto the podium. This is one of the takeaways from the 7th edition of the Top 100 Consumer AI Apps ranking, which the investment fund Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) publishes every six months. Only 11 products are making their first appearance, the lowest number since the ranking was launched in 2023.
- ChatGPT reste l’outil d’IA générative le plus utilisé, mais Claude a rejoint le podium.
- Claude convertit davantage d’utilisateurs vers ses offres premium, mais son usage a reculé en juillet et août.
- Seuls 4,5 % des consommateurs paient un abonnement IA, et le top 1 % des payeurs génère 20 % des dépenses.
- Les agents personnels comme Instinct attirent rapidement des utilisateurs et pourraient prélever des commissions sur les achats.
ChatGPT remains far ahead, Claude and Gemini choose their ground
In August 2026, ChatGPT recorded about twice as many web visits as Gemini and six times as many as Claude. The gap widens on mobile, where OpenAI’s tool has 2.5 times more monthly active users than Gemini and 14 times more than Claude. However, Anthropic’s assistant climbs from 6th to 3rd place on the web, ahead of DeepSeek and Perplexity.
Of the 127 launches recorded by a16z in six months at Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, 66% of Anthropic’s are aimed at professionals and developers. Google dedicates nearly half of its launches (49%) to the general public, while OpenAI splits between the two, with 39% of launches work-oriented and 20% aimed at the general public.
Regarding paid subscriptions, measured by YipitData on a US panel, ChatGPT had 3.02% of panel members subscribed in August, compared to 1.09% for Gemini and 1.07% for Claude. Claude had surpassed Gemini in March, before Google regained the lead thanks to integrating subscribers to 2TB storage into the AI Plus plan. Claude converts more to its premium offers: 7.3% of its subscribers are on Max, billed from $100 per month, compared to 1.3% at Google for the Ultra offer. However, YipitData notes, in July and August, a decline in Claude’s average daily desktop sessions, as well as fewer new subscribers and more cancellations in the United States. Only 8% of ChatGPT subscribers in the US also pay for Claude. “The question may be less and less about who wins, and more and more about how each company capitalizes on its own opportunity,” suggests a16z.
Paying for AI remains a matter of heavy users
According to YipitData’s US panels, only 4.5% of tracked consumers had a personal paid subscription to ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude in August, compared to 2.1% a year earlier. The top 1% of biggest payers accounts for 20% of observed spending. This top percentile spends an average of $903 per month, an amount up 80% in 18 months, while the median payer sticks to $25, a virtually stable amount.
Of the 44 natively AI products in the web ranking, 84% offer a paid subscription and 64% charge per use or sell additional credits. Only 14% display advertising and 2% take a commission on transactions. OpenAI claims, for the month of August, one billion dollars in advertising revenue on an annualized basis on ChatGPT, which has 1.2 billion active users each week.
Startups and personal agents, a space to be taken
Established software that integrated generative AI has carved out a place in the ranking: Canva (4th) and Notion (7th) remain in the web top 10, while Superhuman, the former Grammarly, secures 4th place in the spending ranking. Startups born with AI are betting on their own model, like Suno or ElevenLabs. In total, only seven companies appear in all three rankings, including the French company Photoroom. Mistral AI and its Vibe assistant do not appear in any of the three.
In the field of personal agents, several startups, including Instinct, Lindy, and Town, claim hundreds of thousands of users, while Muse at Meta, Dots at OpenAI, and Grok Bot at SpaceXAI have replicated. Launched in August on iMessage, Instinct reportedly crossed 100,000 users in three weeks, by invitation. Its founder, Noah Shinn, claims that 40% of users connect a bank card and that those who make a purchase spend an average of $1,300 per month through the agent. Instinct and Muse are considering eventually taking a commission on purchases.
