Source: The Verge
ChatGPT and Gemini reaching 1 billion users each marks the fastest mainstream adoption of any software category—faster than smartphones or social platforms. Conversational AI has moved from experimental to essential infrastructure in how people work, learn, and search. It reflects real displacement of Google Search, writing tools, and customer support as consumers choose a different interface for information retrieval and task completion. The race between OpenAI and Google to dominate this layer creates immediate pressure on legacy tech business models and forces every consumer platform to integrate AI capabilities or risk becoming a middleware dependency for larger players.