Google’s generative-artificial-intelligence service Gemini is gathering momentum in South Korea, surpassing 100,000 monthly active users for the first time and signaling that competition in one of Asia’s most wired markets is beginning to broaden beyond OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Gemini recorded 123,647 monthly users in January, according to data released Monday by mobile-analytics firm IGAWorks. That marked the service’s highest level since launch, up nearly seventeenfold from a year earlier and more than 30% higher than in December.
Industry analysts cautioned that actual engagement may be greater, since Gemini is also accessible through functions embedded in Google’s primary mobile app, not only through a standalone download.
Even so, ChatGPT remains dominant by scale. The OpenAI chatbot logged 14.3 million monthly active users in South Korea in January, up 3.3% from a month earlier. While that base dwarfs Gemini’s, Google’s service is expanding at a far faster clip.
Other rivals trail well behind. SK Telecom-backed A. reported about 1.39 million monthly users, followed by Perplexity with roughly 731,000 and xAI’s Grok at around 721,000.
Gemini’s rise has been particularly visible in new installations. The app was downloaded 458,901 times in January, an increase of about 77,000 from the prior month, ranking second behind ChatGPT’s 776,297. ChatGPT’s own downloads, however, slipped from roughly 900,000 in December.
The performance represents a sharp reversal from last spring, when Gemini’s monthly downloads were below 70,000. By January, it had overtaken Grok, A. and Perplexity in new installs, suggesting that user adoption is accelerating as consumers experiment with alternatives.
For developers and investors, the figures offer an early signal that South Korea’s AI market—once effectively synonymous with ChatGPT—may be entering a more competitive phase. Absolute leadership remains firmly with OpenAI, but Gemini’s trajectory is drawing increasing attention.
Some analysts expect the landscape could eventually narrow to a two-player contest, with smaller generative-AI platforms competing in specialized niches rather than for mass adoption.
