Is distribution really the moat? What actually defends an AI product

Android and Search placement carried Gemini from a twentieth of the AI market to nearly a fifth in a year, while Copilot stayed pinned near 1.2% despite shipping inside Windows. Same year, same distribution-wins slogan, opposite results. The rule that explains both: distribution is a moat only when it is owned or embedded and sits on a product people keep opening. Every channel you merely rent can be repriced or switched off by its owner overnight.