Google's generative artificial intelligence (AI) 'Gemini' is rapidly spreading worldwide, but it has not drawn user interest in Korea. While its global monthly active users (MAU) have surpassed 400 million, there are evaluations that the perceptual gap with 'ChatGPT' is quite clear in Korea.
According to mobile analytics platform Mobile Index, Gemini's MAU in Korea for May was 55,010, marking a 227% increase compared to the previous month (16,803). Compared to May of last year (3,501), this is about a 15-fold increase. Although the growth is steep, in terms of the number of users, it remains at the level of a 'niche app.' In May, ChatGPT recorded an MAU of 10,171,126, securing about 180 times more users than Gemini.
ChatGPT saw its MAU in Korea, which was around 2.9 million at the end of last year, rise sharply this year, surpassing 10.72 million in April. Last month marked the first decline in MAU in Korea, but it still maintains over 10 million users. Despite being a single app, it is highly evaluated for integrating various generative features and sustaining high user engagement. Industry insiders suggest that the image generation feature based on GPT-4o played a catalytic role in increasing the number of paid subscribers. Experts share the view that images styled after 'Ghibli' became popular as profile pictures on social media, significantly contributing to user influx. According to OpenAI, Korea has the second-largest number of paid subscribers after the United States.
As a result, there are assessments that the gap in usage between Gemini and ChatGPT is more pronounced compared to other countries. Google officially announced at the annual developer event 'I/O 2025' held in Mountain View, California, last month that Gemini's global MAU had surpassed 400 million. This figure reflects an increase of 50 million from the 350 million reported to a U.S. court two months ago. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, stated, 'The number of global developers utilizing the Gemini API has reached 7 million.' OpenAI also mentioned in April that the global MAU for ChatGPT reached approximately 500 million, indicating a solidifying duopoly.
Google is integrating AI features across major apps, including Search, YouTube, Google Docs, and Maps, centered around Gemini. In particular, 'Gemini 2.5 Pro' can handle a 1,500-page context and contains a 'Deep Think' mode capable of solving complex math and coding problems, earning it the reputation of being 'thinking AI.' A high-performance model, 'Gemini Ultra,' has also been launched with a monthly subscription plan costing $249.99, targeting high-spec demand.
However, this highly developed ecosystem strategy does not seem to directly translate to securing users in the Korean market.
Choi Byung-ho, a professor at Korea University’s AI Research Institute, noted, 'Google's Gemini is deeply integrated into everyday apps such as documents, maps, and search, and is technically strong in context understanding and solving math and coding problems, receiving high praise among experts.' However, he added, 'From a general user's perspective, it does not intuitively resonate with them why it is necessary, and the perception of it being a Google app could weaken, leading to lower engagement.' He continued, 'OpenAI has successfully captivated public interest by inducing emotional resonance through features like generating Ghibli-style images, and this strategy has operated strongly in the emotionally sensitive Korean market.'