--- title: "Cursor vs OpenAI Codex: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Cursor or OpenAI Codex more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI coding assistants set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-coding-assistants/compare/cursor-vs-openai-codex" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Cursor vs OpenAI Codex: Which is searched more? Is Cursor or OpenAI Codex more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI coding assistants set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Cursor and OpenAI Codex - **Competitive set**: AI coding assistants - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Cursor Share of Search**: 8.6% - **OpenAI Codex Share of Search**: 13.9% ## Is Cursor or OpenAI Codex more popular in search? - In September 2026, OpenAI Codex had more branded searches than Cursor among AI coding assistants worldwide. OpenAI Codex had about 992,000 branded searches, while Cursor had 616,000. OpenAI Codex made up 13.9% of all AI coding assistant searches we track, and Cursor accounted for 8.6%. - The lead changed hands 3 times in the 12 months ending September 2026: OpenAI Codex took it in February 2026, Cursor took it in March 2026, OpenAI Codex took it in May 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cursor’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide moved from 17.7% to 8.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 864K to 616K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, OpenAI Codex’s share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide moved from 7.9% to 13.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 386K to 992K. ## Top AI coding assistants in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Cursor appeared in all five answers. OpenAI Codex was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Cursor was listed before OpenAI Codex in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cursor | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Claude Code | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | GitHub Copilot | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | OpenAI Codex | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Replit | 5th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Windsurf | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Lovable | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Bolt | 8th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about AI coding assistants - Asked ChatGPT "Which AI coding assistant should I use?": 1. Cursor, 2. Claude Code, 3. OpenAI Codex, 4. GitHub Copilot - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best AI coding assistants?": 1. Cursor, 2. Claude Code, 3. GitHub Copilot, 4. OpenAI Codex, 5. Windsurf - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best AI coding assistant for help coding?": 1. Cursor, 2. OpenAI Codex, 3. Claude Code, 4. GitHub Copilot - Searched Google, AI Overview "ai coding assistant": 1. Cursor, 2. GitHub Copilot, 3. Claude Code, 4. Replit, 5. Lovable, 6. Bolt - Searched Google, AI Overview "programming ai assistant": 1. Cursor, 2. GitHub Copilot, 3. Claude Code, 4. Windsurf Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for AI coding assistants worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, OpenAI Codex gained share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide, from 13.1% to 13.9%. - In September 2026, Cursor lost share of searches among AI coding assistants worldwide, from 10.1% to 8.6%. ## Month by month | Month | Cursor estimated searches | Cursor Share of Search | Cursor rank | OpenAI Codex estimated searches | OpenAI Codex Share of Search | OpenAI Codex rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 864K | 17.7% | 3 | 386K | 7.9% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 860K | 19.5% | 3 | 289K | 6.5% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 719K | 15.6% | 3 | 245K | 5.3% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 891K | 11.7% | 3 | 314K | 4.1% | 5 | | Feb 2026 | 902K | 9.6% | 4 | 1.1M | 11.5% | 3 | | Mar 2026 | 1.1M | 8.7% | 4 | 877K | 7% | 5 | | Apr 2026 | 1.1M | 8.1% | 4 | 1M | 8% | 5 | | May 2026 | 908K | 7.6% | 5 | 1.7M | 14.5% | 3 | | Jun 2026 | 1M | 10.9% | 4 | 1.1M | 11% | 3 | | Jul 2026 | 748K | 9% | 4 | 1.2M | 14.6% | 3 | | Aug 2026 | 740K | 10.1% | 4 | 960K | 13.1% | 3 | | Sep 2026 | 616K | 8.6% | 4 | 992K | 13.9% | 3 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cursor’s and OpenAI Codex’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Cursor**: Measured on the search terms “anysphere cursor”, “cursor agent”, “cursor agents”, “cursor ai”, “cursor ai agent”, “cursor ai app”, “cursor ai coding”, “cursor ai editor”, “cursor ai ide”, “cursor ai pro”, “cursor app”, “cursor bugbot”, “cursor cli”, “cursor code”, “cursor coding”, “cursor composer”, “cursor ide”, “cursor pro”, “cursor sh”, “cursor vscode” and “cursor.sh”, summed into one figure. - **OpenAI Codex**: Measured on the search terms “ai codex”, “chatgpt codex”, “codex agent”, “codex ai”, “codex ai coding”, “codex app”, “codex chatgpt”, “codex cli”, “codex coding”, “codex desktop”, “codex extension”, “codex github”, “codex ide”, “codex mac”, “codex open ai”, “codex openai”, “codex vscode”, “open ai codex”, “openai codex”, “openai codex cli”, “openai codex github”, “openai's codex” and “openaicodex”, summed into one figure. - [Cursor profile](/demand/global-en/brands/cursor) - [OpenAI Codex profile](/demand/global-en/brands/openai-codex) - [All AI coding assistants worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/ai-coding-assistants): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Cursor or OpenAI Codex more popular in search? In September 2026, OpenAI Codex had more branded searches than Cursor among AI coding assistants worldwide. OpenAI Codex had about 992,000 branded searches, while Cursor had 616,000. OpenAI Codex made up 13.9% of all AI coding assistant searches we track, and Cursor accounted for 8.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Cursor vs OpenAI Codex: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-coding-assistants/compare/cursor-vs-openai-codex This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-coding-assistants/compare/cursor-vs-openai-codex. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.