Deepseek is no longer a small name in the AI chatbot market. Recent traffic and app data show the Chinese AI chatbot moving quickly into the same conversation as better-known Western services.
That momentum matters, but it does not yet change the hierarchy. ChatGPT remains the clear leader by a wide margin, and OpenAI’s business appears to be growing alongside its audience.
Deepseek’s audience is growing quickly
Data from Similarweb shows Deepseek’s website reaching 6.2 million daily visits on January 24. That is a major jump from around 300,000 visitors in December 2024.
The mobile picture also points to rising demand. Deepseek’s Android app recorded 1.64 million active users on January 24, and the app also reached the top spot in Apple’s App Store.
Taken together, those signals suggest that Deepseek has moved beyond early curiosity. It is attracting real user attention across both the web and mobile app stores.
For an AI chatbot, that matters because user habits can form quickly. People often return to the assistant that gives them useful answers, feels easy to access, and fits into their daily workflow. Deepseek’s rapid growth shows that it has found a way to bring many more users into that loop.
Where Deepseek now stands against rivals
Similarweb’s data places Deepseek ahead of Perplexity and Claude in website traffic. It is also gaining ground on Google’s Gemini.
That comparison comes with an important caveat. The Gemini picture is harder to judge from website traffic alone, because most users likely access Google’s AI assistant through their phones.
Still, the web traffic ranking is meaningful. It shows that Deepseek has entered the competitive tier of AI chatbots that users actively seek out, rather than remaining a niche product.
The market is not just about who has the strongest model or the most recognizable brand. It is also about distribution, daily usage, and whether people return often enough for the service to become a habit. On those measures, Deepseek appears to be making progress.
ChatGPT remains far out in front
Deepseek’s growth is notable, but the gap with ChatGPT is still very large. Similarweb data shows ChatGPT reaching 117.5 million website visits on January 24.
That is 19 times more than Deepseek on the same day. On mobile, the difference is even larger, with ChatGPT having about 50 times more daily active users.
Those numbers make the current market position clear. Deepseek may have caught up with several major AI chatbot competitors in website traffic, but it has not yet come close to ChatGPT’s overall scale.
This distinction is important. A fast-growing challenger can reshape expectations and pressure larger rivals, but scale still gives ChatGPT a major advantage. A larger user base can reinforce visibility, brand familiarity, and the paid services that sit on top of free usage.
OpenAI’s paid business keeps expanding
The Information’s sources in investment circles say ChatGPT’s paid subscribers increased from 5.8 to 15.5 million in 2024. That growth translates to projected annual revenue of at least $4 billion, or $333 million monthly, by year’s end.
Only about 5% of ChatGPT’s weekly active users currently pay for the service. With 350 million weekly active users, up from 110 million in early 2024, OpenAI still has a large pool of free users it could try to convert into customers.
OpenAI has also introduced ChatGPT Pro at $200 monthly. That product is expected to bring in $300 million annually.
The Information reports that API services contribute at least another billion in yearly revenue. That gives OpenAI more than one path for growth: consumer subscriptions, higher-priced premium products, and services used through its API.
Pricing could become the next battleground
The source article also points to OpenAI’s broader financial ambitions. The company is reportedly working to reduce Microsoft’s 20% revenue share and is talking to Softbank about $40 billion in new funding at a valuation of $260-300 billion, up from $157 billion today.
OpenAI also expects to raise ChatGPT prices, introduce usage-based fees, and create premium offerings as AI becomes more capable of handling everyday work tasks. Internal discussions mention potential prices up to $2,000 monthly.
That shows how the AI chatbot market may evolve. The central competition is not only about attracting free users. It is also about finding out how much individuals, developers, and organizations will pay when AI tools become more useful for regular work.
Deepseek’s rise is therefore significant, but it is not yet a direct threat to ChatGPT’s lead. The current picture is more specific: Deepseek is gaining users fast, passing some major rivals on the web, and drawing attention on mobile. ChatGPT, meanwhile, still dominates traffic and has a growing paid business behind it.