Parmy Olson, Columnist

Why ChatGPT Still Has a Winning Edge Over Google's AI

November 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM UTC

Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of “Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World.”

Birthday celebrations.
Photographer: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

Exactly three years ago ChatGPT launched as a humble web demo. It now has more than 800 million weekly users, a number that could cross 1 billion before the year is out. And for the generative AI boom it’s become a bellwether, one of the fastest-growing online services of all time.

But Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman isn’t done. He’s ushering ChatGPT into the next phase of growth, juicing engagement by adding new personality features — and even erotic content — as he scrambles to cover his extraordinary costs. Luckily for him, ChatGPT’s domination of the chatbot market looks set to continue, even as Alphabet Inc.’s Google creeps up the rankings.