# AI Breakout: May 2026

Published May 3, 2026 by Torii Research (Torii). Updated October 7, 2026. Canonical URL: https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/ai-breakout-may-2026

The top three hold steady in May while Microsoft Copilot surges into the top 10.

## What the data says

Claude AI, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini keep the top three spots for a second month.

Microsoft Copilot is the standout climber, up 18 places to #10 a month after entering the ranking.

ChatOn gives back most of April's jump, falling 13 places to #20. Three apps are new to the ranking: superwhisper at #21, Anthropic at #27, and Warp.dev at #30.

## At a glance

- Top 3: Claude AI (#1), ChatGPT (#2), Google Gemini (#3).
- Biggest climbers: Microsoft Copilot, up 18 to #10; ollama, up 7 to #18; ElevenLabs, up 3 to #16.
- Biggest drops: ChatOn, down 13 to #20; Base44, down 7 to #28; Grok, down 7 to #29.

## What kinds of apps

AI-native apps: 90% (27 of the 30 apps). Share of this edition's apps by theme (one theme per app; definitions at https://www.toriihq.com/research/themes):

- AI assistants: 33% (10 apps: Claude AI, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, NotebookLM, Perplexity AI, ChatOn, Anthropic, Grok)
- AI coding and building: 30% (9 apps: Cursor AI, Claude Developer, Gemini Code Assist, Google Antigravity, OpenAI Codex, ollama, Google AI Studio, Base44, Warp.dev)
- AI notes and voice: 13% (4 apps: Granola, superwhisper, Read AI, Fireflies.ai)
- AI content and media: 10% (3 apps: Grammarly, ElevenLabs, Gamma App)
- AI agents: 3% (1 app: n8n)
- Work suites and collaboration: 3% (1 app: ClickUp)
- Sales, marketing, and CX: 3% (1 app: Gong)
- Ops, HR, and finance: 3% (1 app: Zapier)

## Rankings

Ranked by usage among AI apps. Rank change compares with the previous published edition.

| Rank | App | Category | Theme | AI-native | Rank change | Shadow IT index | SOC 2 claimed | ISO 27001 claimed | GDPR claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude AI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 30 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | ChatGPT | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 25 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3 | Google Gemini | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 43 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 4 | OpenAI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | +1 | 27 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 5 | Cursor AI | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -1 | 23 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 6 | Grammarly | Productivity | AI content and media | Yes | Same | 34 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 7 | Gong | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | +2 | 21 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 8 | Zapier | IT & Security | Ops, HR, and finance | No | Same | 32 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 9 | Claude Developer | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | +1 | 36 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 10 | Microsoft Copilot | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | +18 | 52 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 11 | NotebookLM | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 37 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 12 | Granola | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | +2 | 50 | No | No | Yes |
| 13 | Gemini Code Assist | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | +2 | 46 | No | Yes | No |
| 14 | Google Antigravity | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -2 | 54 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 15 | OpenAI Codex | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | +2 | 64 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 16 | ElevenLabs | Operations | AI content and media | Yes | +3 | 50 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 17 | Perplexity AI | Analytics & BI | AI assistants | Yes | -1 | 54 | No | No | No |
| 18 | ollama | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | +7 | 55 | No | No | No |
| 19 | Gamma App | Sales & Marketing | AI content and media | Yes | -6 | 59 | Yes | No | No |
| 20 | ChatOn | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | -13 | 61 | No | No | No |
| 21 | superwhisper | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | New | 100 | No | No | No |
| 22 | Read AI | Operations | AI notes and voice | Yes | +1 | 57 | Yes | No | No |
| 23 | Google AI Studio | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -5 | 50 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 24 | n8n | Operations | AI agents | Yes | -4 | 37 | No | No | Yes |
| 25 | ClickUp | Project Management | Work suites and collaboration | No | -1 | 48 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 26 | Fireflies.ai | Sales & Marketing | AI notes and voice | Yes | Same | 55 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 27 | Anthropic | IT & Security | AI assistants | Yes | New | 29 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 28 | Base44 | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -7 | 52 | No | No | No |
| 29 | Grok | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | -7 | 59 | No | No | Yes |
| 30 | Warp.dev | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | New | 50 | Yes | No | No |

## Method

Anonymized, aggregated usage data from companies across industries and sizes, reported as percentages, ranks, and scores. No single organization is identifiable. Methodology: https://www.toriihq.com/research/methodology

## Changelog

- 2026-10-07, Correction: Recalculated rank changes against April 2026. 5 of 30 original figures did not match the ranks published in that edition, so every value now compares against it. Apps not in that list show as new.
- 2026-10-07, Correction: Rewrote the takeaways from this edition's data. The original text repeated the February 2026 edition, so its apps and figures did not match the table on this page.
- 2026-10-07, Update: Moved from toriiresearch.com; title standardized. Torii Research now lives on toriihq.com. It was first published as "AI Breakout Report: May 26" at toriiresearch.com/reports/ai-breakout-report-may-26.

## How to cite

Torii Research. (2026, May 3). AI Breakout: May 2026 [Data set]. Torii. https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/ai-breakout-may-2026

Data: https://www.toriihq.com/research/data/ai-breakout-may-2026.csv and https://www.toriihq.com/research/data/ai-breakout-may-2026.json