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Category Advantage measures the drivers of brand strength by capturing both mental availability (likelihood a brand comes to mind) and emotional closeness (how strongly consumers connect with a brand) among all competitors. Schedule a private briefing on the full Consumer AI Category.
The bottom line up front
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Google Gemini is the current strongest challenger brand to ChatGPT in consumer AI, and Apple's announced Gemini integration is poised to further tighten the race.
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Gemini is widely known, broadly associated with core category tasks, and frequently considered alongside ChatGPT at the moment of need.
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Gemini's growth challenge is not awareness or credibility — it is breaking out of 'second recall' status and converting strong mental penetration into clearer first-choice preference.
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The strategic priority is to translate Google's search authority and ecosystem reach into sharper mental leadership at the category's largest entry points.
ChatGPT’s competitive strengths
- Gemini is a true generalist brand, not a niche tool. It is recalled by roughly three-quarters of category buyers and is linked to nearly as many tasks as ChatGPT. This positions it as a credible option across the category's largest and most frequent entry points.
- Strong alignment with the biggest entry points. Gemini performs well on the dominant reasons people turn to AI: researching topics of interest, needing a quick answer without searching, learning new skills, and rewriting or clarifying information. These high-reach tasks account for the majority of category entry and are the foundation of scalable growth.
- Perceived authority and accuracy. Relative to many competitors, Gemini benefits from Google's legacy in search, information retrieval, and factual credibility. This makes it especially well-positioned for information-heavy and explanatory tasks.
- Healthy conversion once recalled. When Gemini is mentally available, it tends to be used. There is no evidence of a material 'consideration-to-usage' breakdown among those who think of the brand.
Gemini is close behind ChatGPT on mental availability
ChatGPT’s challenges:
- Often recalled second. Gemini is frequently mentioned alongside ChatGPT but less often retrieved first. For many consumers, it is the 'next best option' rather than the default starting point.
- Brand role can blur across Google surfaces. Gemini appears across Search, Android, Workspace, and other environments. While this increases exposure, it risks weakening a clear mental story about what Gemini is for, as opposed to simply being 'Google's AI.'
- Emotional connection is solid but not exceptional. Gemini performs well on functional trust, but does not meaningfully outperform other top brands on emotional closeness. This limits differentiation in a category where functional performance is converging.
The core insight
Gemini is credibly chosen, but not habitually defaulted to. Consumers trust Gemini, associate it with the category's biggest jobs, and use it when it comes to mind. However, ChatGPT more often occupies the first mental slot, especially in spontaneous or ambiguous moments of need. The strategic imperative is to move Gemini from 'strong alternative' to 'equally default' by sharpening its role at the most frequent entry points and reinforcing a consistent memory structure across Google's ecosystem.
What tasks Gemini can win — and where it's vulnerable
The AI category is organized around functional, cognitive tasks, and Gemini competes strongly on the largest of these. Gemini is especially well-positioned where accuracy, clarity, and synthesis matter:
- Researching and exploring topics
- Getting fast, factual answers
- Learning and explanation
- Clarifying or rewriting information
Where Gemini is more exposed is in system-level productivity orchestration (documents, workflows), where Microsoft Copilot has an edge, and creative/expressive tasks, where Canva, Midjourney, Runway, and ChatGPT often feel more inspiring or flexible.
This suggests Gemini should defend its information authority lane, rather than chasing every creative or productivity niche.
Five strategic priorities for ChatGPT based on this research
- Win the first-recall moment in core entry points. Gemini must be mentally retrieved first for researching topics, quick answers, and learning/explanation. This requires repetitive, explicit task-coded messaging ('When you need to understand...') rather than abstract brand storytelling.
- Sharpen the Gemini role across Google's ecosystem. Exposure is not the issue; clarity is. Gemini should feel like the same assistant whether encountered in Search, Android, or Workspace, reinforcing one consistent mental story.
- Differentiate on clarity and trust, not personality. Gemini's advantage lies in being clear, reliable, and grounded. Leaning too hard into humor or novelty risks blurring its strongest equity.
- Increase cultural relevance among younger users. For 21-34s, Gemini must show up in learning, self-improvement, and everyday problem-solving moments, not just 'search replacement' scenarios. Creator demonstrations and real workflows matter more than feature claims.
- Measure success through mental leadership, not surface reach. Key indicators of progress should include increases in mental market share (not just usage), growth in task associations beyond pure research, and reduced 'second-choice' positioning in brand consideration.
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About this research
Morning Consult conducts over 30,000 daily proprietary surveys in 45 countries covering more than 5,000 brands and 50 economic indicators.
Our category advantage research is aimed at understanding the needs driving consumers in your category — and how your brand can own more of them. This research is built on validated principles of brand-driven growth and powered by Morning Consult’s industry-leading sampling technology.
Measure the true drivers of brand strength
Capture both mental availability (the likelihood your brand comes to mind when consumers face a need or occasion) and emotional closeness (how strongly consumers connect with your brand), benchmarked against competitors.
Uncover Category Entry Points (CEPs)
Directly tied to mental availability, see the specific needs, occasions, and triggers that drive purchase decisions in your category, and how strongly your brand is linked to them.
Pinpoint growth opportunities
Direct investment toward the moments and consumer segments with the greatest potential to grow your brand.
Turn insights into action fast
Get survey results in 4–5 days through a centralized dashboard and short-form memo that equips stakeholders with clear direction on where and how to win.