After an impressive surge in popularity in late 2022 and early 2023, OpenAI's chatbot seems to be losing momentum. Data from the internet analytics firm Similarweb indicates a global decline of 9.7 percent in mobile and desktop traffic to the ChatGPT website last month. This marks the first recorded decrease in user activity for the chatbot. Similarly, app tracker Sensor Tower reported a drop in downloads of ChatGPT’s iOS app after reaching a peak earlier in June.
This decline is part of a broader trend affecting multiple AI platforms. Similarweb's findings reveal reduced traffic to the desktop and mobile sites of Microsoft Bing, Google Bard, and Character.AI in recent months. For instance, traffic to Bing surged between February and March following the public release of Bing AI but has since returned to pre-GPT-4 levels.
Moreover, Similarweb noted an 8.5 percent decrease in ChatGPT user engagement, measured in user minutes. Various factors could explain this downturn. The Washington Post suggests that the end of the school year may contribute, as many college students are now on summer break and are less likely to use ChatGPT for academic purposes. Additionally, companies like Samsung are restricting employee access to AI chatbots due to concerns over potential data leaks.
Despite these trends, OpenAI is likely unfazed. CEO Sam Altman has previously mentioned that operating ChatGPT incurs significant costs, indicating that a reduction in public usage may provide some relief.