Gemini 2.5 Pro is having a moment. Not only has it surged to the top of the App Store and Google Play, but a new public survey ranked it the No. 1 AI model overall — beating out ChatGPT, Claude and dozens of others.
The study of more than than 21,000 users across the U.S. and U.K., Gemini 2.5 Pro came out on top for trust, ethics, reasoning and ease of use. Meanwhile, ChatGPT landed in 8th place — a solid showing, sure, but far from the top spot.
So why is Google’s latest chatbot suddenly everyone’s favorite? My guess is that it has something to do with the popularity of Nano Banana, an expert-level image generation and editing tool that is sparking viral trends. The combination of strong user trust and fun creative features is proving hard to beat.
What Gemini 2.5 Pro does better
Gemini is built for multimodal input, meaning it can handle just about anything users throw at it. Want an image analyzed? Need that PDF summarized before a big meeting? How about turning your latest vacation pictures into a video?
Gemini can handle more. While ChatGPT is expanding in this area, users in the public survey said that Gemini feels less complicated and more seamless than OpenAI’s model.
Gemini 2.5 Pro has a 1 million token window. Because of that, it can follow bigger conversations with ease. Being able to process longer documents and complex requests without losing the thread are a big win for users who want to stay productive with minimum interruptions to their workflow.
Gemini works within Google’s ecosystem. It stays up-to-date and pulls in fresher knowledge. ChatGPT can fetch live data, but Gemini’s integration gives it the edge.
Nano Banana and Veo 3. These creative tools can’t compare to ChatGPT’s image generation abilities. They are arguably better, already turning heads online on TikTok and Instagram. ChatGPT supports image generation and even sparked viral trends of it’s own when image generation was integrated within chat, but lately, it hasn’t captured the same viral energy as Gemini 2.5 Pro.
The public trusts Gemini. Lastly, yet most important to the public as stated in the survey is Gemini’s safety. The AI tool ranked higher for safety and ethics; this is an important qualification for parents, educators and casual users a like. This extra layer of reassurance clearly matters.
Where ChatGPT still comes out on top
Gemini may have the public’s interest now, but ChatGPT isn’t out of the game. In fact, it still leads in a few areas:
Writing and storytelling: Many users prefer ChatGPT’s natural tone and creative flexibility. Personally, I prefer for ChatGPT for it’s style and tone as Gemini can feel too robotic for writing or brainstorming.
Plugins and integrations: ChatGPT’s ecosystem of tools and custom GPTs makes it highly adaptable for work, writing and more.
Coding and technical support: OpenAI’s model still delivers consistent results on developer-focused prompts.
Usability and cost: ChatGPT offers more free prompts in the free tier than Gemini, which only allows 5 free prompts with it’s free tier.
Bottom line
Gemini’s rise comes down to one thing: broad appeal. By offering easy, plug-and-plau creative tools, fresher information and a trustworthy feel, Google has made its AI more approachable to casual users.
ChatGPT may be the more familiar name, but when it comes to what most people want in an everyday AI assistant, Gemini 2.5 Pro is hitting that sweet spot.
If you’re choosing your next AI app, give Gemini a try. You’ll discover visual creativity, long-form reasoning and a friendlier experience. Stick with ChatGPT if you need advanced writing, coding or a more established tool ecosystem.
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