Trends in AI Applications in the United States - Morgan Stanley's Latest Research

The daily active users of generative AI in the United States have reached 14%, with Gemini experiencing the fastest growth, and ChatGPT leading among the 16-24 age group. Consumer commercial behavior is beginning to emerge, with Gemini having a slight advantage.

According to news from the Chasing Wind Trading Desk, Morgan Stanley's latest research shows that about 14% of Americans aged 16 and older now use ChatGPT, Gemini, or Meta AI daily, an increase from 11% six months ago.

Among them, Google's Gemini shows the strongest growth momentum, gaining the largest increase in daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU). Among the 16-24 age group, ChatGPT still leads in usage compared to other platforms.

The research report highlights that consumer commercial behavior is forming, with about 25-45% of users now using these platforms for shopping, price comparison, and product research, with Gemini showing the strongest growth in this area.

Google's Gemini Grows the Fastest, ChatGPT Leads Among Young Users

Morgan Stanley states that based on daily active data, about 35 million Americans use ChatGPT, Gemini, or Meta AI daily. In terms of monthly usage, these three major platforms attract about 40% of Americans aged 16 and older, equivalent to about 100 million American users for each platform. However, Morgan Stanley also points out that there is a significant overlap among users.

Gemini has shown the largest growth momentum over the past six months, likely due to its independent app launch on iOS (November 2024), the full availability of Gemini 2.0 (February 2025), and the release of AI Overviews/ Search AI mode (March 2025).

By age group, the younger demographic is adopting generative AI the fastest, with about 20% of 16-24-year-olds using these products daily. The report states:

Among this group, ChatGPT maintains its leading position, with 22% / 68% of 16-24-year-old respondents indicating they use ChatGPT daily / monthly, a rate that surpasses Gemini and Meta AI, both at about 5% / 22%.

However, among the 25-34 age group, the usage rates of GPT, Gemini, and Meta AI are nearly equal, with Gemini showing the largest growth over the past six months.

The age group over 35 also shows a similar situation.

Commercial behavior is emerging, with Gemini slightly ahead

The research report shows that while informational learning remains the primary use case, 52% and 46% of ChatGPT and Gemini users, respectively, indicate they use these platforms to learn new topics. However, about 25-45% of ChatGPT/Gemini users have begun engaging in commercial behavior interactions:

About 45% of Gemini users use the tool for product research, a significant increase over the past six months.

37%/34% of users engage in price comparison/shopping.

Morgan Stanley states that in terms of commercial applications, Gemini is slightly ahead of ChatGPT. This reflects Google's user behavior advantage in commercial activities and indicates that Google needs to further launch more Gemini/TPU features within its leading user base and data set to maintain its leading position in commercial channel entry.

The research report shows that the adoption rate of commercial behavior is relatively consistent across age groups, although the younger demographic has seen significant growth over the past six months.

The survey indicates that 39%/46% of young people aged 16-24/25-34 use ChatGPT to research new products, an increase of approximately 750/650 basis points compared to six months ago.

Gemini users are increasingly researching new products across all age groups, with the 25-34 age group leading. Among users aged 16-24, 35% report shopping on Gemini, an increase of approximately 750 basis points compared to six months ago.

High platform overlap, with Google and Meta having advantages

Morgan Stanley states that there is a significant user overlap between these platforms (approximately 65-75%):

• 69%/66% of ChatGPT users also use Gemini/Meta AI.

• 71%/70% of Gemini users also use ChatGPT/Meta AI.

• 70%/72% of Meta AI users also use ChatGPT/Gemini The report points out that this high overlap rate is expected as generative AI is still in its early stages. Over time, personalization/memory/product innovation will drive platform adoption and differentiation. In this context, platforms that already have a leading user base and data (Alphabet/Meta) have an advantage over ChatGPT