Brazil Has Entered the AI Era: What the Data Shows So Far

Brazil is the third country in the world with the most active ChatGPT users, behind only the United States and India. At the same time, among Brazilian smartphone owners, nearly 40% still search only in traditional search engines. Both pieces of information are true at the same time, and together they describe the current moment better than either one alone.

The Scale of AI Usage in Brazil

According to data released by OpenAI in August 2025, Brazil sends 140 million messages per day to ChatGPT and ranks third in the global ranking of active users, behind the United States and India (InfoMoney).

A more recent national survey details this usage, with an important sample caveat: the Super Panorama study, conducted by Mobile Time in partnership with Opinion Box, interviewed 4,100 Brazilians aged 16 and older who own smartphones between March 4 and 24, 2026, meaning it does not represent the entire Brazilian population, only those with smartphones. Within this audience, 75% of respondents used some AI assistant in the last 12 months, and 18.7% access this type of tool every day. Among the platforms used, ChatGPT leads with 79.7% adoption, followed by Gemini (54.5%) and Meta AI (34.8%) (Canaltech).

A Change That Is Not Yet the Majority

The same Super Panorama study shows that the migration to AI is not unanimous, even among those who already have smartphones. Almost 40% of respondents still use only traditional search engines, such as Google and Bing, without combining them with any AI tools. On the other hand, 25% already combine traditional search and AI in their daily lives, and only 2.2% rely exclusively on chatbots for searches (Canaltech).

This picture describes a transition in progress, not a destination. Even within the audience that already has smartphones and has tested AI at some point, a significant part of the search routine still relies solely on traditional tools. At the same time, the segment that already mixes search engines with AI, or has completely switched, is large enough not to be ignored and is likely to grow.

What This Means for Brands to Defend

For a company that depends on being found, the important data is not whether everyone has already migrated, but that an increasing portion of the audience is already asking an AI before asking Google, and this portion is only expected to grow over time. A brand absent from the answers of ChatGPT, Gemini, or Meta AI loses relevance precisely to this expanding segment, even while remaining well-positioned in traditional searches.

This behavior is accompanied by the practice of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), which works on the presence of brands, products, and sources in the answers generated by AI. AI Visibility tools, such as MencionAI, monitor this behavior by executing purchase and discovery prompts in the main models used in Brazil and measuring whether, and how, a brand appears in the responses over time.

To find out if your brand already appears in these responses, just schedule a demo of MencionAI.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Brazilians are already using ChatGPT or another AI? According to the Super Panorama study (Mobile Time and Opinion Box, March 2026, sample of Brazilian smartphone owners), 75% have used some AI assistant in the last 12 months, and 18.7% use it every day. ChatGPT is the most used tool, with 79.7% adoption among those who have used AI.

Has AI usage in Brazil surpassed traditional search engines? No. Among Brazilian smartphone owners, nearly 40% still use only traditional search engines, compared to 25% who already combine traditional search and AI in their daily lives and 2.2% who use only AI. The change is underway, but traditional search engines still hold the largest isolated share of usage among this audience.

Why does this data matter for a brand, even without a majority migrated? Because the segment that already combines AI with traditional search, or uses only AI, represents potential customers who may never see a traditional search result from the brand. The larger this segment grows, the higher the cost of not appearing in AI responses, regardless of the size of the segment that has not yet migrated.