Google's Generative AI "Gemini" is chasing OpenAI's "ChatGPT" globally, but it has failed to draw users' interest in Korea. Gemini recently surpassed 650 million global monthly active users (MAU) after adding the image generation and compositing feature "Nano Banana," but its user base in Korea is shrinking.
According to app analytics platform Mobile Index on the 7th, Gemini's domestic MAU last month was 68,023, down 10.27% from the previous month (75,811). Gemini's domestic MAU was only 7,240 in January, but rose to ▲ 16,803 in April ▲ 55,010 in May ▲ 91,723 in June ▲ 94,896 in July. However, after hitting a record high in July, it reversed to a decline to 88,715 in August and has been steadily losing MAU. Last month, ChatGPT's MAU was 13,048,025, surpassing 13 million for the first time. This has led to the assessment that ChatGPT has solidified its lead among domestic Generative AI chatbots.
This contrasts with Gemini's surge in the global market. Alphabet, Google's parent company, said in its recent third-quarter earnings release that Gemini's global MAU reached 650 million. That is an increase of 200 million from the previous quarter (450 million). While there is still a gap with ChatGPT, whose global MAU is estimated at 1 billion, Gemini has been making waves, rising to No. 1 in app store rankings worldwide, including in the United States, in September.
The popularity of Gemini was sparked by the image generation and editing AI model "Nano Banana," introduced in August. Nano Banana gained word of mouth by delivering strong results in head-to-head comparisons where the same prompt (command) was used to compare generated images. Its hallmark is natural editing, such as converting 2D images into 3D or directly selecting objects within an image for modification without text. It is also said to show high completeness in detailed tasks such as product compositing and image upscaling.
Right after this feature launched, Gemini attracted 13 million new users, and the number of images users uploaded reached 500 million. This is similar to how OpenAI drew users with ChatGPT's "Ghibli meme." Early this year, ChatGPT promoted a feature that draws images in the style of "Studio Ghibli," a Japanese animation studio, and it spread as a meme on social media (SNS), rapidly boosting user numbers. In Korea, user numbers for ChatGPT also surged quickly after the "Ghibli meme."
However, in Gemini's case, a "second Ghibli effect" does not appear to have materialized in Korea. Various reasons are cited. First, while Google's Nano Banana was received overseas as a "high-performing AI image" tool, in Korea it did not deliver innovation on the level of the "Ghibli meme." In addition, domestic users have already experienced sufficient quality and utility through ChatGPT, and as they grow accustomed to the AI ecosystems released by domestic big tech corporations such as Naver and Kakao, they do not feel a compelling need to switch to Gemini.
An IT industry official said, "Domestic users tend to prioritize real-world utility over image generation technology itself," adding, "ChatGPT is already deeply embedded in daily life, and the interoperability with search- and productivity-based AI provided by domestic big tech like Naver or Kakao cannot be ignored. Even if the image model is excellent, from the standpoint of domestic users, Gemini has yet to deliver the kind of tangible innovation that would justify changing existing workflows."