The competitive landscape of AI platforms is quietly shifting: Claude's monthly traffic has surged by 63%, but Google's moat remains deep and unfathomable.

The traffic competition among generative AI became more distinct in February. Claude saw significant growth driven by feature updates, while Gemini continued steady upward momentum, but Google still maintains an advantage in user scale and search share.

According to ChaseWind Trading Desk, Bank of America released a report on March 6 titled “Claude Performs Well, Gemini Continues Growth,” citing Similarweb data. In February, Claude’s global daily web visits increased by 63% month-over-month, significantly outpacing Gemini’s 17% and ChatGPT’s 7%, with Google web visits up 4% MoM.

Mobile penetration is also accelerating. According to Sensor Tower, in February, Claude’s global mobile daily active users (DAU) grew 54% MoM to 4.2 million; Gemini’s grew 12% to 82 million; ChatGPT’s grew 4% to 440 million, indicating AI capabilities are continuously driving incremental usage.

Amid increasing competition, Statcounter data shows Google’s global search share rose 14 basis points to 90.0% in February. BofA Securities believes AI is driving more complex and longer query streams and expanding search opportunities, maintaining an “Buy” rating on Alphabet with a target price of $370.

Web: Claude Leads February Growth

According to Similarweb data, in February, web daily visits to major AI platforms worldwide grew to varying degrees.

Google led with 290 million daily visits, up 6% YoY and 4% MoM; ChatGPT reached 197 million daily visits, up 42% YoY and 7% MoM; Gemini had 79 million daily visits, a 667% YoY increase and 17% MoM growth.

Claude’s performance was particularly outstanding. In February, its global daily visits reached 11 million, a 308% YoY increase, with a 63% MoM rise.

The US market continued this trend: Claude’s US daily visits hit 3.3 million, up 353% YoY and 67% MoM. BofA Securities attributes this explosive growth to the February launch of the new Claude Code feature and model upgrades.

In comparison with emerging AI platforms, Grok, Perplexity.ai, and Claude.ai are relatively leading in traffic rankings. In February, Perplexity.ai’s global daily visits were about 6 million, up 44% YoY; Grok’s were about 11 million, up 9% MoM.

Notably, the combined traffic of all these emerging AI platforms still accounts for less than 1% of Google’s daily visits, highlighting the scale gap.

Mobile: Gemini and Claude Both Make Strides

Mobile data also confirms these trends. According to Sensor Tower, in February, among major AI platforms’ global mobile DAU, ChatGPT led with 440 million, up 193% YoY and 4% MoM; Gemini’s mobile DAU reached 82 million, up 328% YoY and 12% MoM, netting about 9 million new users in the month.

Claude’s mobile growth is equally impressive. In February, its global mobile DAU hit 420,000, up 407% YoY and 54% MoM, with a net increase of 140,000.

In the US, Claude’s mobile DAU reached 130,000, up 394% YoY and 52% MoM. For comparison, Grok’s mobile DAU was 12 million, up 3%; Perplexity’s global mobile DAU was about 9 million, up 191% YoY.

Despite the rapid growth, Claude and Perplexity’s absolute DAU levels are still far below ChatGPT and Gemini. Google’s global mobile DAU remains dominant at 2.2 billion, up 12% YoY, with an unmatched scale advantage.

Search Share: Google Remains Dominant, Bing Gains Ground

Regarding search market share, Statcounter data shows Google’s global search share increased 14 basis points to 90.0% in February, but still declined 14 basis points YoY. Bing rose 55 basis points MoM and 103 basis points YoY to 5.0%, continuing its upward trend.

Regional data shows divergence. In the US, Google’s search share rose 26 basis points to 84.2%, but was down 311 basis points YoY; Bing’s US share increased 57 basis points MoM and 300 basis points YoY to 10.5%, with a clear upward trend.

By device, Google has a stronger advantage on mobile. In February, global mobile search share increased 82 basis points YoY to 95.2%; desktop share rose 305 basis points to 83.0%. In the US, desktop Google share increased 181 basis points YoY to 77.4%, while Bing’s US desktop share declined 77 basis points to 16.7%.

Investment Logic: AI Drives Search Expansion, Alphabet Maintains Buy

BofA maintains a “Buy” rating on Alphabet with a $370 target price, based on a 27x forward 2027 GAAP EPS plus cash valuation.

The report states that Alphabet holds a favorable long-term competitive position, with core logic including:

1. AI-driven search expansion: Continued user growth and strong Q4 search performance indicate AI is fueling a cycle of expanding search usage, with more complex queries and longer query streams, increasing overall search opportunities rather than replacing them.

2. Enhanced search monetization potential: AI integration is expected to improve intent understanding and monetize zero-click queries more effectively (currently neutral); Agentic capabilities could further enhance measurement accuracy.

3. Reasonable valuation: The current stock price of around $300 implies a 24x P/E multiple on 2027 GAAP EPS, compared to about 20x for the S&P 500, within an acceptable premium range.

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