# AI Breakout: September 2026

Published September 3, 2026 by Torii Research (Torii). Updated October 8, 2026. Canonical URL: https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/ai-breakout-september-2026

Claude AI reaches 97% adoption in September, and OpenAI moves past Google Gemini into third.

## What the data says

Claude AI (97% adoption) and ChatGPT (88% adoption) keep the top two spots. OpenAI is up 1 place to #3.

Grok is the biggest climber, up 7 places to #17. Figma Weave enters at #13, the highest new entry.

OpenAI Codex is down 7 places to #22, the largest drop.

This edition covers August 2026 usage data.

## At a glance

- Top 3: Claude AI (#1), ChatGPT (#2), OpenAI (#3).
- Biggest climbers: Grok, up 7 to #17; Gemini Code Assist, up 2 to #18; Perplexity AI, up 2 to #23.
- Biggest drops: OpenAI Codex, down 7 to #22; ClickUp, down 4 to #26; Google AI Studio, down 4 to #27.

## What kinds of apps

AI-native apps: 83% (25 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 coding and building: 30% (9 apps: Cursor AI, Claude Developer, Google Antigravity, Gemini Code Assist, ollama, OpenAI Codex, Google AI Studio, OpenCode, Devin)
- AI assistants: 27% (8 apps: Claude AI, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Anthropic, Grok, Perplexity AI)
- AI content and media: 13% (4 apps: Grammarly, Figma Weave, ElevenLabs, Gamma App)
- AI notes and voice: 10% (3 apps: Granola, Read AI, Fireflies.ai)
- Sales, marketing, and CX: 7% (2 apps: Gong, Apollo)
- AI agents: 3% (1 app: n8n)
- Work suites and collaboration: 3% (1 app: ClickUp)
- Design and video: 3% (1 app: ScreenPal)
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude AI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 41 |
| 2 | ChatGPT | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 38 |
| 3 | OpenAI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | +1 | 43 |
| 4 | Google Gemini | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | -1 | 62 |
| 5 | Cursor AI | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | Same | 42 |
| 6 | Gong | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | +1 | 49 |
| 7 | Grammarly | Productivity | AI content and media | Yes | -1 | 49 |
| 8 | Microsoft Copilot | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | Same | 65 |
| 9 | Claude Developer | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | Same | 56 |
| 10 | Granola | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | +1 | 65 |
| 11 | Zapier | IT & Security | Ops, HR, and finance | No | -1 | 45 |
| 12 | Read AI | Operations | AI notes and voice | Yes | +1 | 67 |
| 13 | Figma Weave | Design | AI content and media | Yes | New | 79 |
| 14 | Google Antigravity | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | Same | 71 |
| 15 | ElevenLabs | Operations | AI content and media | Yes | +1 | 64 |
| 16 | Anthropic | IT & Security | AI assistants | Yes | +1 | 49 |
| 17 | Grok | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | +7 | 75 |
| 18 | Gemini Code Assist | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | +2 | 66 |
| 19 | Apollo | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | Same | 63 |
| 20 | ollama | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -2 | 74 |
| 21 | ScreenPal | Productivity | Design and video | No | New | 87 |
| 22 | OpenAI Codex | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -7 | 75 |
| 23 | Perplexity AI | Analytics & BI | AI assistants | Yes | +2 | 62 |
| 24 | n8n | Operations | AI agents | Yes | -3 | 59 |
| 25 | Fireflies.ai | Sales & Marketing | AI notes and voice | Yes | +1 | 65 |
| 26 | ClickUp | Project Management | Work suites and collaboration | No | -4 | 64 |
| 27 | Google AI Studio | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | -4 | 67 |
| 28 | OpenCode | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | +2 | 84 |
| 29 | Devin | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | New | 73 |
| 30 | Gamma App | Sales & Marketing | AI content and media | Yes | -2 | 69 |

## 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

- 2026-10-08, Update: Released after its edition date. This edition covers August 2026 data. It went live on 2026-10-08, and its figures were calculated then.

## How to cite

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

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