Microsoft’s Copilot is not just growing — it’s accelerating faster on mobile than many expected, and recent Comscore data shows that the shift is reshaping the consumer and enterprise AI landscape in ways that matter for Windows users, IT teams, and marketers alike. The numbers tell two simultaneous stories: Copilot’s mobile footprint surged sharply in Q2, driven largely by enterprise integration and distribution deals, while ChatGPT remains the dominant mass-market destination, with the biggest absolute user base. These trends coincide with a broader commercialization of AI: Azure has crossed major revenue thresholds and OpenAI’s subscription and API business has scaled into multibillion-dollar annual recurring revenue, creating both opportunity and new strategic risks for companies and users.
Comscore recently launched a consumer AI tool usage dataset that tracks engagement across 117 AI tools on desktop and mobile; Adweek obtained exclusive access to Comscore’s March–June window and reported detailed month‑to‑month changes. According to those figures, Microsoft Copilot added roughly 5.6 million U.S. mobile users from March to June, while ChatGPT added 3.9 million in the same period. That surge pushed Copilot’s mobile user base to an estimated 8.8 million in the quarter — a 175% increase — compared with ChatGPT’s 25.4 million mobile users and 17.9% growth over the same timeframe. Google’s Gemini also grew, to about 14.3 million mobile users, aided in part by device distribution strategies such as Pixel preloads. (adweek.com)
Comscore’s broader dataset also shows total mobile web and app usage of AI tools rising to about 73.4 million users in the March–June span, while desktop usage declined to roughly 78.4 million, signaling a pronounced mobile tilt for many AI interactions. Comscore collected these metrics from a digital panel of roughly a quarter‑million devices and aggregated engagement across the toolset. (adweek.com, comscore.com)
At the same time, Microsoft’s financial disclosures confirm Azure’s rapid monetization: in its fiscal reporting Microsoft said Azure surpassed $75 billion in annual revenue, up about 34% year‑over‑year, with executive commentary that AI demand is a major driver. OpenAI, separately, reported hitting $10 billion in annual recurring revenue from ChatGPT subscriptions and API sales as of June — a milestone that underscores how consumer and developer demand are converting into real commercial scale. (news.microsoft.com, cnbc.com)
For enterprise IT leaders and procurement teams this distribution model reduces friction:
Key takeaways:
For enterprises and Windows users, the practical takeaway is straightforward: evaluate AI assistants on the basis of governance, integration, and measurable business outcomes — not just headline user growth. At the same time, policy makers and industry watchers should monitor how bundling, device deals, and ecosystem concentration reshape competitive dynamics. The growth numbers are meaningful, but they intersect with structural questions about choice, privacy, and the future of productivity software. (adweek.com, comscore.com, news.microsoft.com, cnbc.com)
Source: Adweek Microsoft's Copilot Outpaces ChatGPT in US Mobile Growth, Data Shows
Comscore recently launched a consumer AI tool usage dataset that tracks engagement across 117 AI tools on desktop and mobile; Adweek obtained exclusive access to Comscore’s March–June window and reported detailed month‑to‑month changes. According to those figures, Microsoft Copilot added roughly 5.6 million U.S. mobile users from March to June, while ChatGPT added 3.9 million in the same period. That surge pushed Copilot’s mobile user base to an estimated 8.8 million in the quarter — a 175% increase — compared with ChatGPT’s 25.4 million mobile users and 17.9% growth over the same timeframe. Google’s Gemini also grew, to about 14.3 million mobile users, aided in part by device distribution strategies such as Pixel preloads. (adweek.com)Comscore’s broader dataset also shows total mobile web and app usage of AI tools rising to about 73.4 million users in the March–June span, while desktop usage declined to roughly 78.4 million, signaling a pronounced mobile tilt for many AI interactions. Comscore collected these metrics from a digital panel of roughly a quarter‑million devices and aggregated engagement across the toolset. (adweek.com, comscore.com)
At the same time, Microsoft’s financial disclosures confirm Azure’s rapid monetization: in its fiscal reporting Microsoft said Azure surpassed $75 billion in annual revenue, up about 34% year‑over‑year, with executive commentary that AI demand is a major driver. OpenAI, separately, reported hitting $10 billion in annual recurring revenue from ChatGPT subscriptions and API sales as of June — a milestone that underscores how consumer and developer demand are converting into real commercial scale. (news.microsoft.com, cnbc.com)
Why Copilot’s mobile growth matters
Enterprise distribution and product embedding
The most important factor behind Copilot’s sharp mobile growth is distribution through Microsoft’s enterprise relationships and product embedding. Copilot is not only a standalone app; it’s integrated across Microsoft 365, Windows, Edge, and Azure services. That creates multiple low-friction touchpoints for employee adoption: IT teams can enable Copilot capabilities, admins can roll out seats in bulk, and Copilot experiences can be surfaced inside tools users already open every day (e.g., Word, Outlook, Teams). Comscore’s analysts specifically point to the productivity narrative and enterprise convenience as a major adoption vector for Copilot. (adweek.com, comscore.com)For enterprise IT leaders and procurement teams this distribution model reduces friction:
- Copilot can be deployed via existing Microsoft 365 licensing or as an add‑on.
- Admin controls and governance tools align with corporate compliance requirements.
- Single sign-on and directory integration simplify rollout and device management.
The power of bundling and device deals
Beyond enterprise licensing, Comscore data and industry reports highlight that hardware bundling and carrier/device partnerships materially shift user acquisition economics. Google’s Gemini benefits from having the assistant preloaded on Pixel phones; other AI startups have signed global deals with device makers to surface their assistants. Comscore’s dataset demonstrates that channel strategy — not just raw model capability — can quickly move millions of mobile users. (adweek.com, comscore.com)Habit formation and platform stickiness
Comscore’s findings also reveal that most heavy users of AI assistants are single‑platform loyal. In the dataset examined by Adweek, more than 85% of top AI assistant users stick to a single platform, suggesting these tools are not one-off experiments but becoming habitual workflow components. That habit formation matters: once Copilot is the default assistant inside a company’s productivity stack, switching costs for users and admins are nontrivial. (adweek.com)How this competes with ChatGPT: scale vs. velocity
There’s a natural tension in the market: ChatGPT continues to outscale rivals by raw numbers — Adweek’s Comscore window still shows ChatGPT with the largest mobile audience — yet Copilot’s rate of mobile growth outpaced it in the March–June period. The right way to read that: Copilot is growing fast from a smaller base, while ChatGPT’s sheer audience remains much larger and remains the de facto consumer destination for many use cases. (adweek.com, comscore.com)Key takeaways:
- Growth rates can be misleading when presented without context; a 175% increase for Copilot is impressive but starts from a smaller absolute base than ChatGPT’s tens of millions.
- ChatGPT’s consumer-friendly UX, broad developer ecosystem, and massive adoption continue to make it sticky for many non‑enterprise scenarios.
- Microsoft’s strategy is explicitly enterprise‑first, using integration as the wedge to drive adoption inside business workflows.
The commercial angle: revenue, infrastructure, and incentives
The macroeconomic backdrop matters because these adoption figures are not just vanity metrics — they translate directly into cloud consumption, subscriptions, and enterprise deals.- Azure’s scale and growth: Microsoft disclosed that Azure topped $75 billion in annual revenue and grew roughly 34% year‑over‑year, with executives attributing much of the lift to AI workloads. That revenue supports Microsoft’s massive capex for data centers, network, and specialized inferencing hardware. (news.microsoft.com, datacenterdynamics.com)
- OpenAI’s revenue milestone: OpenAI reported hitting roughly $10 billion in ARR from ChatGPT subscriptions and API sales as of June, per multiple reporting outlets. That number shows the developer and consumer monetization vectors are both material and accelerating. It also explains why cloud providers and device vendors are structuring commercial incentives and partnerships heavily around AI. (cnbc.com, techcrunch.com)
Strengths, opportunities, and the practical benefits for Windows users
Strengths driving Copilot adoption
- Deep integration with Microsoft ecosystem — Copilot benefits from being present in Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and Windows, which reduces behavior change friction.
- Enterprise governance and compliance features — businesses that need data protections and auditing prefer solutions with admin controls, which Copilot (via Microsoft 365) provides.
- Channel reach — Microsoft’s sales and partner channels (resellers, MSPs, system integrators) accelerate enterprise deployments at scale.
- Bundling economics — Copilot can be bundled with Microsoft 365 offerings and device plans, lowering incremental cost to IT buyers. (comscore.com)
Opportunities for Windows users and IT leaders
- Organizations can use Copilot as a way to formalize AI governance: define data boundaries, control connectors, and standardize on supported features rather than allowing unmanaged shadow usage.
- IT teams can exploit single‑sign‑on, tenant controls, and in‑app experiences to make AI more productive rather than distracting.
- Device vendors and IT procurement can negotiate bundles that include premium Copilot features for specific user segments (sales, legal, engineering).
Risks, measurement caveats, and the regulatory landscape
Measurement and comparability issues
Comscore’s dataset is robust — tracking 117 AI tools from a large digital panel — but all third‑party measurement systems have limitations. Panel sampling, deduplication rules, and how “use” is defined (app open, active session, or unique visitor) affect totals. Care is required when comparing:- Download counts vs. active users: App downloads (reported by firms like Sensor Tower) are a different metric than monthly active mobile users measured by Comscore’s panel-based approach.
- Growth rates vs. absolute scale: High percentage growth from a low base can look dramatic while still yielding modest absolute user counts.
- Self‑reported revenue disclosure: OpenAI’s $10B ARR figure is reported by the company and described in coverage as excluding certain licensing and one‑time deals; independent auditors have not published a full breakdown. That caveat matters for financial modeling. (cnbc.com, comscore.com)
Product and UX risks
- Fragmentation: Multiple Copilot versions exist (consumer Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot) and legacy users may find the landscape confusing, leading to fragmented workflows.
- Feature parity: Some users still report that consumer‑focused assistants like ChatGPT have better document‑handling or conversational features, making internal adoption uneven.
- Reliability and hallucinations: Enterprise customers require predictable outputs and provenance; model errors or hallucinations can undermine trust unless properly mitigated with retrieval‑augmented workflows and human review.
Privacy, governance, and regulatory attention
- Data governance: Enterprises must manage what data Copilot can access in tenant contexts; Microsoft’s compliance features help, but governance remains nontrivial.
- Regulatory scrutiny: Bundling an assistant across a dominant productivity suite raises antitrust questions in some jurisdictions if competitors claim the bundling disadvantages them.
- Vendor lock‑in: Heavy integration into a single vendor’s stack creates lock‑in that can be expensive to unwind.
Tactical guidance for enterprises and IT teams
- Evaluate the use cases before standardizing on an assistant.
- Identify workflows where Copilot’s deep application integration (e.g., summarizing internal email threads, drafting enterprise templates) provides clear ROI.
- Pilot with governance controls enabled.
- Run limited pilots with data loss prevention, logging, and human validation for sensitive outputs.
- Measure both engagement and business outcomes.
- Track time saved, error rates, and compliance metrics — not just user counts.
- Consider hybrid architectures.
- Use Azure-hosted tooling for regulated data and selective third‑party APIs where features are superior but data governance is maintained.
- Negotiate commercial terms with eyes on future portability.
- Request data exportability and termination clauses that protect long-term choice.
What this competition means for Windows and the AI ecosystem
- For Windows users, the Copilot gains are generally good news: closer integration can mean faster productivity gains, from smarter search in Edge to on‑device assistance for common tasks. Microsoft’s cloud scale and per‑seat licensing mean enterprise IT can roll out Copilot with familiar governance constructs. (news.microsoft.com, adweek.com)
- For consumers and developers, ChatGPT’s continued lead in absolute audience means its ecosystem — third‑party apps, GPTs, developer APIs, and plugin integrations — will remain a critical part of the AI fabric. OpenAI’s revenue scale also ensures sustained investment in models and tooling. (cnbc.com)
- For competitors, the lesson is clear: distribution channels and device partnerships matter as much as raw model capability. Expect more bundling, more preloads, and more vertically integrated offerings.
Critical perspective: strengths balanced against consolidation risks
Microsoft’s Copilot growth is a textbook example of platform advantage: embed useful capabilities where users already work, and adoption follows. That integration is a competitive strength, but it brings strategic tradeoffs:- Strengths: predictable enterprise monetization, security/compliance features, and strong channel distribution.
- Risks: reduced consumer choice, potential regulatory pushback if bundling stifles competition, and customer frustration if product fragmentation persists.
What to watch next
- Quarterly Comscore releases and expanded device‑level measurement will clarify whether Copilot’s Q2 mobile momentum persists or slows as market dynamics settle. Expect future reports to show whether Copilot sustains growth across different cohorts and geographies. (comscore.com, adweek.com)
- Microsoft’s product roadmap for Copilot (including deeper on‑device capabilities, agentic workflows, and Edge/Windows integration) will determine whether the assistant becomes indispensable or remains one of several options.
- OpenAI’s commercial disclosures and product expansions (enterprise GPTs, APIs, and possible hardware integrations) will continue to shape developer and enterprise strategy, particularly given the company’s reported $10B ARR base. (cnbc.com)
- Regulatory and antitrust scrutiny in major markets (EU, U.S.) could influence distribution strategies, ad productization inside assistants, and the scope of preloaded software agreements.
Conclusion
The Comscore data reported by Adweek reveals a dynamic moment in the AI assistant market: Copilot is accelerating on mobile, leveraging Microsoft’s enterprise channels and product integration to convert users rapidly, while ChatGPT retains a far larger absolute audience and strong developer momentum. These shifts are not academic — they influence procurement decisions, cloud consumption, and how quickly AI becomes a routine part of daily workflows.For enterprises and Windows users, the practical takeaway is straightforward: evaluate AI assistants on the basis of governance, integration, and measurable business outcomes — not just headline user growth. At the same time, policy makers and industry watchers should monitor how bundling, device deals, and ecosystem concentration reshape competitive dynamics. The growth numbers are meaningful, but they intersect with structural questions about choice, privacy, and the future of productivity software. (adweek.com, comscore.com, news.microsoft.com, cnbc.com)
Source: Adweek Microsoft's Copilot Outpaces ChatGPT in US Mobile Growth, Data Shows