DeepSeek now the 2nd most popular AI chatbot, ahead of Gemini and Character AI

A Chinese AI chatbot called DeepSeek has experienced explosive growth in web traffic, becoming the second most visited AI chatbot globally after ChatGPT, surpassing both Google’s Gemini and Character.AI.

Key metrics and growth: DeepSeek’s website recorded 49 million visits in a single day, marking a 614% increase from the previous week.

• Web traffic to DeepSeek.com surged from 300,000 daily visits to 33.4 million visits on January 27, 2025
• The platform now significantly outperforms Google’s Gemini (10 million daily visits) and Character.AI (6 million daily visits)
• ChatGPT remains the dominant player, attracting 130-140 million daily visits

Market position and competition: While DeepSeek has achieved remarkable growth, it still faces significant competition from established players in the AI space.

• The platform trails behind ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing.com, which incorporates OpenAI’s Copilot technology
• DeepSeek’s US traffic peaked at 4.9 million daily visits on January 28
• Recent data shows US traffic settling at 2.4 million daily visits, representing an 813.3% week-over-week increase

Technical innovation and cost efficiency: DeepSeek’s rapid rise can be attributed to its groundbreaking approach to AI model development.

• The company’s V3 model reportedly cost only $5.5 million to train, compared to the billions spent on US AI models
• V3 offers capabilities similar to ChatGPT but can be downloaded and run locally
• This cost-effective, open-source approach makes the technology more accessible to other companies

Challenges and concerns: Despite its meteoric rise, DeepSeek faces several obstacles that could impact its continued growth.

• The platform recently experienced a DDoS attack, forcing temporary restrictions on new user sign-ups
• Questions about privacy and censorship policies have emerged, potentially affecting user trust
• Competition continues to intensify, with OpenAI launching new features like “Deep Research” for comprehensive research report generation

Future outlook: While DeepSeek’s dramatic growth demonstrates the expanding market for AI chatbots, sustaining this momentum will require addressing security concerns and competing with rapid innovations from established players. The platform’s success also highlights a shift in the AI landscape, where cost-effective, open-source solutions are gaining traction alongside proprietary technologies.