On February 28, the number of uninstalls for ChatGPT's mobile app in the U.S. skyrocketed by an impressive 295% in response to OpenAI's recent collaboration with the Department of Defense (DoD). This surge marks a significant deviation from the app's typical uninstall rate of just 9% on an average day over the past month, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
In contrast, downloads for Anthropic's Claude, a competitor to ChatGPT, experienced a notable increase as well, rising by 37% on February 27 and subsequently by 51% the following day. This uptick followed Anthropic's announcement that it would not engage in a partnership with the U.S. defense sector, citing concerns over the potential use of AI for surveillance and autonomous weaponry.
The news regarding OpenAI's DoD deal seemingly impacted ChatGPT's popularity, with its U.S. downloads declining by 13% on Saturday, immediately after the announcement, and continuing to drop by 5% on Sunday. Prior to the partnership reveal, ChatGPT had enjoyed a 14% increase in downloads on Friday.
Claude's rise in popularity was reflected in its App Store ranking, where it ascended to the top position on February 28, marking a jump of over 20 ranks compared to the previous week. Consumer sentiment was also evident in app ratings, with one-star reviews for ChatGPT surging by 775% on Saturday and continuing to rise by 100% on Sunday, while five-star ratings dipped by 50% during the same timeframe.
Additional insights from Appfigures corroborate Sensor Tower's findings, noting that on February 28, Claude's daily downloads in the U.S. surpassed those of ChatGPT for the first time, with estimates suggesting an 88% increase day-over-day.
As of March 2, Claude has become the leading free iPhone app in several countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, and the U.S. Similarweb also reported that Claude's downloads in the U.S. over the past week were approximately 20 times higher than those recorded in January, although they cautioned that other factors might be influencing this trend.
