Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant has garnered 79 million downloads, a figure that pales in comparison to OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has surpassed 900 million downloads. (thestar.com.my) This stark contrast highlights the challenges Microsoft faces in the competitive AI landscape, despite substantial investments in artificial intelligence.
In the fiscal year 2025, Microsoft announced an $80 billion investment in AI-powered data centers, aiming to bolster its Copilot initiative and broader generative AI strategy. (indiatoday.in) However, Copilot's adoption rate remains modest, indicating slower traction among users compared to its competitors.
Analysts and users have pointed to quality concerns as a contributing factor. Since its launch, Copilot has faced criticism for falling short of ChatGPT's capabilities in reasoning, creativity, and conversational quality, despite being built on similar underlying models licensed from OpenAI. (indiatoday.in)
Complicating matters is Microsoft's reliance on OpenAI. Copilot uses OpenAI's GPT models as a core component of its functionality, creating a situation where Microsoft is both a partner and a competitor to the maker of the world's most downloaded chatbot. (indiatoday.in)
While Microsoft's ambitions are clear, its AI strategy has yet to produce market-leading consumer success. The company still holds a powerful position in enterprise AI integrations, thanks to its cloud services and productivity tools. However, when it comes to consumer-facing AI assistants, the numbers suggest that Copilot has a long road ahead.
As the chatbot space continues to evolve rapidly, Microsoft's future in this domain may hinge not only on investment but also on user experience—and whether Copilot can truly stand out in a crowded, fast-moving field.
Source: TipRanks https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/microsoft-copilot-smartphone-app-downloads-lower-than-chatgpt-bloomberg-says-thefly/
