Google says its Gemini app has crossed 450 million monthly active users

Google’s Gemini app has officially crossed 450 million monthly active users, a massive milestone that signals the company’s bet on AI is gaining momentum. At the same time, the app’s daily engagement has shot up by a whopping 50 per cent compared to the last quarter.

Company also pushes AI heavily in India

The figures dropped last Friday via a LinkedIn post from Shekar Khosla, Google India’s vice president of marketing. This marks a jump from the 400 million user figure CEO Sundar Pichai shared just before the company’s I/O developer conference back in May.

A key driver for this surge appears to be Google’s AI push in India, one that especially targets a younger audience. One example is an offer that lets Indian students over 18 snag a free Gemini AI Pro subscription until mid-September. This is a sweet deal considering the plan’s hefty annual price tag and how it unlocks powerful tools like the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and the Veo 3 video generator.

That said, Google’s India push extends beyond freebies for students. The company’s I/O Connect event in Bengaluru this month was packed with announcements aimed at building a local AI powerhouse.

Google revealed plans to localise processing for its Gemini 2.5 Flash model in India. This will offer fast, localised AI performance for key sectors like finance and healthcare. The company is also teaming up with Indian startups like Soket AI and Sarvam to develop sovereign AI models under the government’s IndiaAI mission.

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The news comes as Google’s biggest rival ChatGPT remains the top-used AI chatbot, commanding a staggering user base estimated between 800 million and one billion weekly active users, according to reports. The fight is not just a two-horse race either.

AI search engine Perplexity has also become a serious contender. It recently leapfrogged ChatGPT to become the number one app on India’s Apple App Store. That success followed a partnership with Bharti Airtel that offered customers a free year of Perplexity Pro.