Anthropic’s viral moment is waning.
Business Insider reviewed data from multiple tracking firms, which show that interest in the AI startup has begun to plateau following a remarkable surge when Anthropic refused to back down amid a contract dispute with the Pentagon.
Data from Appfigures, an app intelligence firm, shows that ChatGPT overtook Claude in estimated daily downloads on the US Apple and Google Play stores earlier this month, a contrast from the brief window where Anthropic reigned supreme.
Anthropic’s rise coincided with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the AI giant taking a major hit after what Altman described as a “rushed” deal with the Pentagon, just hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would formally label Anthropic as a national security risk.
Kara Lee, a brand and digital analyst at Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm, wrote to Business Insider that Claude’s daily download rate “has largely plateaued, averaging a 2% DoD (day-over-day) decline” as of March 25. At the same time, downloads of ChatGPT have increased 1% day over day.
The news isn’t all bad for Anthropic. The data shows that interest in Claude is still far above where it was nearly two months ago.
In early February, Claude wasn’t even in the top 40 of the most downloaded free apps on Apple’s US App Store. As of Friday afternoon, Claude ranked No. 2, behind ChatGPT. And the number of daily active users of Claude has continued to tick up, according to data from Similarweb.
Lee said that Anthropic has seen a 166% increase in daily downloads compared to February, as of March 25. ChatGPT was down 4%.
Despite widely-regarded AI models, OpenAI has long dominated the consumer space after it jump-started the generative AI race with the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. Instead, Anthropic has zeroed in on the enterprise market, which Amodei has previously described as a more reliable business model.
“I think we have a better business model. I think we have better margins,” Amodei said during The New York Times’ DealBook summit in December. “I think we’re being responsible about it. But again, let’s say you have a different business model. Let’s say you have a consumer business model, youre kind of — the source of your revenue isn’t as good, your margins are uncertain.”
The Pentagon flap provided an unexpected opening back into the mainstream. People wrote “Thank You” messages in chalk outside Anthropic’s headquarters. Katy Perry published a screenshot on X of her new Claude Pro subscription, complete with a heart. The viral moment came after advances in Anthropic’s AI models and new coding and business-focused AI that triggered a sell-off in software stocks.
Just as consumer interest was growing, Anthropic officials expressed immense concern about their enterprise business. In legal filings, the company said billions could be lost if the national security risk designation were to remain.
Anthropic sued the Pentagon and the Trump administration to block Hegseth’s decision to formally label Anthropic as a “supply chain risk.” Separately, President Donald Trump ordered all federal agencies to cease using Anthropic’s products within six months. Despite the current tensions, Anthropic is still trying to work with the federal government. The Washington Post reported that Claude is being used to help the US military carry out strikes in Iran.
On Thursday, a federal judge in San Franscio temporarily blocked the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic as a national security risk. US District Judge Rita Lin put her ruling on hold for the week to give the Justice Department time to appeal.
Anthropic is also showing some strain from its growth. Earlier this week, the AI company tweaked its usage limits to try to level out demand during peak hours.
“I know this was frustrating,” Thariq Shihipar, who works on Claude, wrote on X. “We’re continuing to invest in scaling.”
Madison Hoff contributed graphics for this story.
