Google retains spot as world’s most popular internet service, but AI is growing fast

ChatGPT is already among the internet’s 40 most popular destinations, highlighting the explosive growth of generative artificial intelligence among online users, according to a new report from Cloudflare that ranked the most widely used websites.

“Google, Facebook and Instagram remained dominant in our overall rankings, but the year’s defining story was generative AI’s rapid maturation,” João Tomé, a writer and senior data editor at Cloudlfare, said in a blog post.

ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in November 2022, had 700 million active users as of September, according to the San Francisco-based company.

Cloudflare, a provider of cloud computing services, reported a 19% increase in worldwide internet traffic this year as people rely more on technology for daily communication and entertainment.

To determine the rankings, Cloudflare used aggregated data from its Domain Name System, which helps route traffic to its customers’ websites by converting domain names to IP addresses.  

Read on for Cloudflare’s rankings of the top internet services of 2025.

Top Internet sites overall

Google (including services such as Google Maps and Google Calendar) remains the most popular service, holding the No. 1 spot since 2022, according to Cloudflare. Facebook came in at No. 2, where it has ranked for three straight years.

TikTok, the popular video platform, fell from No. 4 in 2024 to No. 8 this year, with the temporary legal ban in the U.S hurting its performance in 2025, Cloudflare said.

1. Google
2. Facebook
3. Apple 
4. Microsoft 
5. Instagram 
6. Amazon Web Services
7. YouTube 
8. TikTok 
9. Amazon
10. WhatsApp

Top social media sites

Meta-owned Facebook remains the most widely used social media site globally. It ranks No. 2 in the U.S., behind Alphabet’s YouTube, with over 70% of U.S. adults reporting they use Facebook, according to recent Pew Research.

1. Facebook
2. Instagram 
3. TikTok 
4. Snapchat 
5. Linkedin 
6. X (formerly Twitter) 
7. Kwai 
8. Discord 
9. Pinterest
10. Reddit

Top generative AI services 

OpenAI’s ChatGPT maintained its position at the top of the AI list, although Cloudflare said the platform is facing mounting competition from rival chatbots such as Anthropic’s Claude, Perplexity and Google Gemini.

1.  ChatGPT (OpenAI)
2. Claude (Anthropic)
3. Perplexity
4. Gemini (Google)
5. Character.AI 
6. GitHub Copilot 
7. Windsurf AI 
8. QuillBot 
9. Grok (xAI)
10. DeepSeek 

Top e-commerce services

A notable change in the e-commerce category this year is the appearance of two Asia-based companies. Shopee, an e-commerce platform that launched in Singapore in 2015, landed at No. 2, while China’s Temu ranked No. 3.

1. Amazon
2. Shopee 
3. Temu 
4. Shopify
5. Taobao 
6. eBay 
7. Alibaba 
8. Shein
9. Mercado Libre
10. AliExpress