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SimilarWeb has released its recent Global AI Tracker, highlighting significant transformations within the AI sector, which reflect clear trends among market leaders and those struggling to keep pace. This extensive report examines traffic trends across various AI tool categories, providing vital insights for stakeholders and analysts.
The analysis indicates that DevOps and code completion tools are at the forefront, experiencing an impressive 72% growth over the year in the 12 weeks leading up to February 28, 2025. In stark contrast, conventional educational technology platforms are witnessing a notable decline, with a 20% drop as AI-powered alternatives gain ground.
This data underscores a decisive shift in the market landscape: we are witnessing a transition from speculative discussions about AI’s potential impacts to tangible market restructuring. The distinct disparity between the rise of developer tools and the decline of EdTech platforms demonstrates how swiftly AI is reshaping competitive dynamics. The emerging leaders are not only technologically advanced but are also reinventing problem-solving approaches that legacy systems struggle to replicate.
Let’s delve into some key findings from SimilarWeb’s intelligence report that illustrate this evolving AI environment.
According to SimilarWeb’s Global AI Tracker, DevOps tools have achieved 72% growth, while sectors like music generation and content writing have experienced declines. Unexpectedly, data analytics (42%) and human capital management (31%) have surfaced as surprising growth sectors in early 2025. (Credit: SimilarWeb)
The momentum behind AI-driven developer tools is exceptional, underscored by the 72% annual growth. DevOps and code completion solutions stand out as the segment most effectively aligning with market needs in the era of generative AI.
The AI tools market has expanded by 21% quarterly, led by Deepseek’s exceptional 8,658% growth. While established entities such as Microsoft (-6%) and Claude (2%) are losing traction, Hugging Face continues to grow robustly at 42%, reflecting the sector’s intense volatility. (Source: SimilarWeb)
2. The Digital Freelance Contraction
The traffic directed towards digital freelance platforms has notably decreased by 20% during the reporting period, raising significant concerns for the future of knowledge work. As AI tools increasingly automate the production of design, content, and even coding tasks, the traditional freelance market model appears increasingly at risk.
Every major platform in this sector has encountered severe traffic declines: Fiverr (-22%), Upwork (-18%), Freelancer (-15%), and Toptal (-35%). This trend indicates that businesses are increasingly reallocating funds from human freelancers to AI tools for specific tasks, particularly in content generation and basic design work.
Freelance platforms are consistently experiencing year-over-year traffic losses, with Toptal facing the steepest decline at -35%. Guru’s trajectory has shifted dramatically, from 18% growth last September to a decline of 30% by February 2025, further emphasizing the pressure on creative services marketplaces as AI solutions become more prevalent. (Source: SimilarWeb)
3. The Resilience of Design Platforms Amid AI Art Growth
Despite the rise of AI image generation tools that demonstrated an 8% growth by February 2025, conventional design platforms have shown commendable resilience, achieving a 16% growth during the same period. Canva experienced an 18% growth, while Adobe Express and Figma saw growths of 19% and 8%, respectively.
This data challenges the prevailing notion that AI tools necessarily undermine their traditional counterparts. Instead, the evidence suggests that established design platforms could be effectively incorporating AI features, fostering a synergistic rather than adversarial relationship with generative technologies.
Design platforms reported a strong year-over-year growth rate of 16%, with Canva (18%) and Adobe Express (19%) leading the way. New player Kittl, although described as “falling,” still recorded substantial growth at 55%, indicating overall stability in the sector. (Source: SimilarWeb)
4. Traditional EdTech’s Accelerating Decline
Conventional EdTech platforms are showcasing a consistent downward trend, culminating in a 20% decrease year-over-year, with this decline intensifying over time.
A closer look at individual platforms reveals even more alarming statistics. Chegg and Course Hero, previously dominant in the academic assistance domain, have seen traffic plummet by 58% and 59%, respectively. These services, which relied heavily on human tutors and community-driven study resources, now appear especially vulnerable to AI-driven solutions that provide immediate, customized help.
Educational technology platforms face a severe 20% traffic dip, with Course Hero and Chegg suffering nearly 60% declines as students increasingly turn to AI options. Even well-known names like Udemy (-11%) face challenges, while Duolingo remains relatively robust with a mere -1% decline. (Source: SimilarWeb)
5. The Meteoric Rise of Niche AI Challengers
The most remarkable growth narratives are emerging from newcomers rather than established tech giants. Deepseek, which operates in the general AI space, recorded an astounding 8,658% growth over the 12-week period ending February 2025. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s offerings increased by just 9% during the same period, illustrating that these new players are reshaping market specifics.
In the realm of DevOps, Lovable demonstrated equally impressive growth, with an increase that far exceeds traditional measures over the tracking duration. These trends indicate a volatile market environment where specialized tools can seize considerable market positions, even in the presence of well-established entities.
Developer tools exhibit remarkable 72% quarterly growth, driven substantially by Lovable’s extraordinary 928% increase and Cursor’s consistent 97% rise. The market displays a clear winner-take-all framework, as longstanding tools such as Tabnine (-24%) and Bito (-25%) quickly lose ground to AI-enabled alternatives. (Source: SimilarWeb)
The New AI Landscape Takes Shape
The SimilarWeb report offers insights that extend beyond mere traffic figures — it provides a glimpse into the real-world implications of AI technologies across various industries. The findings reveal a complex scenario: AI is not merely replacing existing tools but rather generating new value in certain sectors while disrupting traditional business models in others.
The findings suggest a clear narrative for businesses adapting to these changes: AI adoption is not a unified phenomenon but a spectrum of distinct transformations occurring at varied speeds across different fields. The tools that gain significance may not be the most technologically sophisticated but rather those that address genuine problems faced by targeted user bases.
As developers leverage AI to hasten software development, freelance marketplaces struggle against automation, and established design tools incorporate AI functionalities, we are not only witnessing technological advancements but also a reconfiguration of economic structures. In such a landscape, comprehending real usage patterns — beyond simply evaluating technological capabilities — becomes critical for strategic planning.
While the AI revolution displays uneven progress, its trajectory is clear. The platforms that will prosper are those that effectively leverage AI to create new value, rather than merely supplant existing human work. Ultimately, the true victors will be those developing tools that empower users to achieve what was once thought impossible.
Source
venturebeat.com