Google's new Gemini 3 Pro model is presenting a significant challenge to OpenAI's dominance in the AI chatbot market, forcing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to warn employees of potential "rough vibes" and "temporary economic headwinds." This development comes as Google, having been caught off guard by OpenAI's ChatGPT three years ago, now appears to have the upper hand with Gemini 3's impressive performance, superior integration into Google's ecosystem, and cost efficiencies. Gemini 3 Pro, released on November 18th, has received widespread praise from analysts, users, and industry insiders.
Its advanced capabilities in reasoning, speed, image, and video processing have led some prominent figures, like Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, to declare a significant shift in the AI landscape, stating he would not return to previous models. Despite these accolades, some experts note Gemini's tendency to "hallucinate" or invent answers when it encounters unfamiliar topics, a trait found to be more pronounced than in ChatGPT-5.
However, the model's advantage lies in its training on a vast and diverse dataset, a testament to Google's foundational contributions to generative AI research, including the 2017 Transformer paper. Google possesses significant structural advantages, including massive revenue, cloud infrastructure, and the ability to deploy AI features to billions of users globally.
They are also developing their own chips, challenging Nvidia's dominance. While Google's progress in AI has been rapid, the emergence of Gemini 3 marks a pivotal moment.
OpenAI still maintains strong brand loyalty with approximately 800 million weekly active users and is working on features like memory to personalize ChatGPT's responses. However, transitioning user history to Gemini, while possible, is not a simple process.
Gemini 3 currently leads in many benchmark tests, and its lead is expected to grow with the wider availability of its enhanced reasoning mode, Gemini 3 Deep Think.
