The number of monthly active users (MAU) of Google's Gemini chatbot has surpassed 750 million, according to data from the Q4 2025 earnings report.
The product is experiencing rapid growth: the previous quarter, the company reported 650 million MAU. In comparison, Meta AI has a similar figure of 500 million.
Despite this explosive growth, Gemini still trails its main competitor, ChatGPT, which boasts an audience of 810 million users.
The statistics were released shortly after the launch of Gemini 3, a leading AI model that has shown strong performance in tests. Google CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized that the integration of the neural network has positively impacted the company's growth, and ongoing investments are helping maintain this momentum.
In September, Google introduced an affordable Google AI Plus subscription plan in over 40 countries, including Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Egypt. This budget subscription is expected to attract a less affluent audience and accelerate the product's further spread.
Aggressive Expansion
The success of Gemini has been a key driver behind Alphabet's record performance, with the company's annual revenue surpassing $400 billion for the first time. The company attributes this growth to advancements in artificial intelligence and plans to aggressively increase investments in this area.
For 2026, the corporation has budgeted capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the range of $175–185 billion. The upper limit of this forecast is more than double last year's spending.
In October, Alphabet announced it expects a "significant increase" in expenses for 2026, with the figures released on February 4 exceeding those of other tech giants. For comparison, Microsoft has not disclosed an annual forecast but promised "consistent reductions" in spending after $37.5 billion last quarter. Meta plans to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026.
Wall Street is cautiously watching this budget race, fearing a bubble in the industry. In early November, HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery warned that current revenues from AI companies may not justify the enormous computing expenses.
Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai noted that no company is immune to a potential collapse in the AI market. He mentioned that the current hype shows signs of "irrationality."
It is worth noting that a leak of documents shed light on OpenAI's financial situation, confirming skeptics' concerns that the firm may still be spending more on inference than it earns.