OpenAI recently partnered with the Department of Defense (DoD), now rebranded as the Department of War. Consequently, consumers are violently rejecting ChatGPT. Users are abandoning the platform and flocking to its primary competitor, Anthropic’s Claude.
Anthropic publicly refused a similar DoD partnership. The company stated that they could not agree to the deal terms. Specifically, Anthropic cited fears that the government would use AI to surveil Americans. Furthermore, they warned that AI is not yet safe for use in fully autonomous weaponry.
Clearly, consumers favor Anthropic’s stance. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower reports that U.S. mobile app uninstalls for ChatGPT jumped a staggering 295% day-over-day on Saturday, February 28. Usually, the app only sees a 9% daily uninstall rate.
ChatGPT Drops While Claude Spikes
The DoD announcement immediately derailed ChatGPT’s growth. Before the news broke, ChatGPT downloads had grown 14% on Friday. However, downloads dropped by 13% on Saturday. They fell another 5% on Sunday.
Meanwhile, angry users destroyed ChatGPT’s app ratings. One-star reviews surged 775% on Saturday. Then, they grew another 100% on Sunday. Simultaneously, five-star reviews plummeted by 50%.
Conversely, Claude experienced massive growth. According to Appfigures, Claude’s daily U.S. downloads surpassed ChatGPT’s for the very first time on Saturday, February 28. Claude reached approximately 150,000 estimated first-time downloads, while ChatGPT sank to roughly 100,000.
Claude’s App Store Dominance
Because of this rapid shift, Claude dominated the App Store charts over the weekend. On Saturday, Claude hit No. 1 on the U.S. App Store. This move represented a jump of over 20 ranks compared to February 22. As of Monday, March 2, Claude still holds that top spot.
Additionally, Claude’s success extends beyond the United States. Appfigures noted that Claude is now the No. 1 free iPhone app in six other countries. These include Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.
Finally, Similarweb reported that Claude’s U.S. downloads over the past week were roughly 20x higher than in January. However, the firm cautioned that other factors beyond the political fallout might also contribute to this massive long-term spike.
The rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic is far from over. For now, it’s clear that Anthropic wants to stand on the right side of history, and by doing that, it has gained public support as well. On the other hand, OpenAI played right into the hands of the Devil, and we are all witnesses to that.
Stay tuned to TechJuice for any further updates on this developing story.
