Google's AI has just overtaken ChatGPT.

The AI race among tech companies is becoming increasingly fierce. Photo: Backlinko .

Google's new image creation tool, Nano Banana, has taken the US market by storm. Thanks to its popularity, the Gemini app has surpassed OpenAI's ChatGPT to claim the number one spot on the App Store's free app rankings.

After months of ChatGPT's dominance, the Gemini app for iOS rose to the top spot on September 15th, marking a significant milestone for Google in the fierce AI race.

This success is thanks to a series of recent updates from Gemini, especially the launch of its official AI image creation model called 2.5 Flash Image, also known as Nano Banana. According to Google , this tool has attracted over 10 million new registrations and helped users create over 200 million images in just a few weeks.

Gemini has risen to the number one spot on the App Store rankings in the US. Photo: Katelyn Chedraoui/CNET.

Although App Store rankings are constantly changing, Gemini's rise to the top shows that Google's standalone AI products are truly attracting users.

This is especially significant given that Google's AI has been integrated into many other products such as Google Search, Gmail, and the Google Pixel smartphone line, where users don't have many other options. The popularity of the standalone Gemini app proves that users genuinely want to download and experience this product.

This shift reveals a new front in the AI battle between the two tech giants. While OpenAI focuses on conversational AI and productivity, Google is geared towards image creation and photo editing. The outcome of this race could shape how millions of users interact with AI in the future.

Users test the capabilities of Nano Banana. Photo: X.

Google designed Nano Banana to address a major challenge in AI image creation: maintaining consistency of a character or image across multiple edits. This tool allows users to retain key details while creating various variations.

Additionally, users can upload multiple photos to create collages, switch styles between images, and request edits using natural language.

In terms of business model, the Gemini app is free with a limit of 100 photo edits per day. Meanwhile, users paying from $19.99 per month can perform up to 1,000 edits per day.

While OpenAI focuses on conversational AI with its $20 /month ChatGPT+ package, Google targets users who enjoy creative visual content. This difference shows that the competition between the two companies is becoming increasingly broad and diverse.