HomeClaude consumer growth accelerates after Pentagon deal collapse
Claude's daily active users and new app installs are rising on mobile devices following the company's fallout with the Pentagon. After Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to allow the government to use its AI systems for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons, the company behind Claude was flagged as a supply-chain risk.
Data suggests that Anthropic's stance has led many consumers to favor the model.
App intelligence provider Appfigures reports that U.S. downloads of Claude's mobile app continue to outpace those of ChatGPT. According to the company's estimates, the latest figures from March 2 show Claude with 149,000 daily downloads, compared to 124,000 for ChatGPT.
Image Credits:Appfigures
While download figures provide a snapshot of new users installing the app for the first time, active user numbers reveal how many people are actually using it.
On that front, another market intelligence provider, Similarweb, found that Claude's app on iOS and Android devices had 11.3 million daily active users on March 2, a 183% increase from the start of the year when usage was around 4 million, and up from 5 million daily active users at the beginning of February.
Claude's growth placed it ahead of other AI apps by daily active users, such as Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, but still behind top rivals like ChatGPT. This is partly because Claude's usage spike began later in the month, coinciding with news of Anthropic's tense negotiations with the Pentagon. If these trends persist through March, it could move up in the rankings.
Image Credits:Similarweb
Of course, ChatGPT still dominates the market by a wide margin, with its daily active users on March 2 reaching 250.5 million across iOS and Android.
Similarweb also reports that Claude's web traffic has been increasing.
While Claude remains far behind other top AI providers in web traffic, its traffic grew 43% month-over-month in February and 297.7% year-over-year. At least some of this growth may have come at the expense of ChatGPT, whose web traffic dropped 6.5% month-over-month during the same period. Gemini also saw a modest increase of 2.1%, a slower growth rate than in previous months.
Image Credits:Similarweb
Anthropic itself has been highlighting Claude's progress, noting that its AI chatbot now sees more than 1 million sign-ups per day after becoming the No. 1 app on the U.S. App Store over the past weekend — a position it still holds. The app is also No. 1 in 15 other countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, and the U.K.
The company also noted that Claude has broken its own sign-up record every day since early last week in every country where it's available.
Meanwhile, an earlier report found that ChatGPT's app uninstalls have been growing.
Anthropic was asked for comment, but none was available at the time of publication.
Related article
New Report: AI-Powered Apps Struggle With Long-Term User Retention
As app stores become saturated with AI offerings, many developers assume integrating artificial intelligence is the surest path to profitability. Yet, a recent study examining the subscription ecosystem across iOS, Android, and web challenges this as
Anthropic Enters AI Legal Tech Market as Competition Intensifies
Anthropic unveiled a suite of new chatbot capabilities on Tuesday, aimed at delivering automated support to legal practices. These enhancements expand upon Claude for Legal, the firm-specific platform introduced earlier this year, by adding specializ
OpenAI Closes Gap With Anthropic Among Business Users, New Data Shows
With OpenAI and Anthropic still distant from their anticipated IPOs and the release of detailed financial reports, we must turn to alternative indicators to gauge their business performance. Ramp, a corporate credit card and expense management platfo
Related Special Topic Recommendations
Design & Art
AI Visual Style Reference Tools for Character Sheets, Moodboards, and Pitch Decks
2026 Latest Best AI Visual Style Reference Tools for Character Sheets, Moodboards, and Pitch Decks are here on XIX.AI! This curated top-rated list features powerful game-changing tools that go through rigorous real-world tests. You’ll find a free vs paid comparison, detailed rankings, and must-try options to help you boost creativity and streamline your workflow. Explore now to discover your perfect tool for boosting productivity!
11 tools
xix.ai
SEO
Best AI SERP Analysis Tools for Search Strategy
2026 Latest Best Top-rated AI SERP Analysis Tools for Search Strategy are curated by XIX.AI through rigorous real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. These powerful tools help you unlock hidden optimization opportunities, boost content performance, and gain a competitive edge in search. Discover your perfect tool to elevate your search strategy today. Explore now!
13 tools
xix.ai
Data Analysis
Best AI Anomaly Detection Tools for KPI Monitoring across SaaS and Ecommerce Teams
2026 Latest Best Top-rated AI Anomaly Detection Tools for KPI Monitoring in SaaS and Ecommerce teams! XIX.AI has curated a powerful, game-changing collection based on rigorous real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. You’ll find detailed free vs paid comparison insights to help you identify the must-try solution that boosts productivity and unlocks your AI edge. Explore now!
10 tools
xix.ai
writing
Best AI Outline Generators for Long-Form SEO Articles
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Outline Generators for Long-Form SEO Articles, meticulously curated by XIX.AI. These powerful tools offer game-changing assistance in creating high-quality content quickly, boosting writing efficiency significantly. Get a free vs paid comparison along with real-world tests and detailed rankings to help you find the must-try option that suits your needs. Explore now to unlock your AI edge.
8 tools
xix.ai
Education and Learning
AI Study Tools for Homework and Exam Prep
2026 Latest Best AI Study Tools for Homework and Exam Prep! XIX.AI curates a top-rated list of powerful, game-changing tools that help students boost productivity, streamline homework completion, and ace exams through real-world tests. Get a free vs paid comparison, detailed rankings, and must-try options to unlock your AI edge. Explore now!
10 tools
xix.ai
Music composition
AI Vocal Demo Tools for Songwriters, Hooks, Toplines, and Multilingual Draft Sessions
2026 Latest Best AI Vocal Demo Tools for Songwriters, Hook Creators, and Multi-Language Content Teams! XIX.AI has curated a top-rated list of powerful game-changing tools that go through rigorous real-world tests. You’ll find detailed free vs paid comparison data, comprehensive rankings, and must-try options to help you boost writing efficiency and unlock your creative potential. Explore now to discover your perfect tool for all your content needs!
9 tools
xix.ai
Comments (0)
0/500
Claude's daily active users and new app installs are rising on mobile devices following the company's fallout with the Pentagon. After Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to allow the government to use its AI systems for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons, the company behind Claude was flagged as a supply-chain risk.
Data suggests that Anthropic's stance has led many consumers to favor the model.
App intelligence provider Appfigures reports that U.S. downloads of Claude's mobile app continue to outpace those of ChatGPT. According to the company's estimates, the latest figures from March 2 show Claude with 149,000 daily downloads, compared to 124,000 for ChatGPT.
Image Credits:Appfigures
While download figures provide a snapshot of new users installing the app for the first time, active user numbers reveal how many people are actually using it.
On that front, another market intelligence provider, Similarweb, found that Claude's app on iOS and Android devices had 11.3 million daily active users on March 2, a 183% increase from the start of the year when usage was around 4 million, and up from 5 million daily active users at the beginning of February.
Claude's growth placed it ahead of other AI apps by daily active users, such as Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, but still behind top rivals like ChatGPT. This is partly because Claude's usage spike began later in the month, coinciding with news of Anthropic's tense negotiations with the Pentagon. If these trends persist through March, it could move up in the rankings.
Image Credits:Similarweb
Of course, ChatGPT still dominates the market by a wide margin, with its daily active users on March 2 reaching 250.5 million across iOS and Android.
Similarweb also reports that Claude's web traffic has been increasing.
While Claude remains far behind other top AI providers in web traffic, its traffic grew 43% month-over-month in February and 297.7% year-over-year. At least some of this growth may have come at the expense of ChatGPT, whose web traffic dropped 6.5% month-over-month during the same period. Gemini also saw a modest increase of 2.1%, a slower growth rate than in previous months.
Image Credits:Similarweb
Anthropic itself has been highlighting Claude's progress, noting that its AI chatbot now sees more than 1 million sign-ups per day after becoming the No. 1 app on the U.S. App Store over the past weekend — a position it still holds. The app is also No. 1 in 15 other countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, and the U.K.
The company also noted that Claude has broken its own sign-up record every day since early last week in every country where it's available.
Meanwhile, an earlier report found that ChatGPT's app uninstalls have been growing.
Anthropic was asked for comment, but none was available at the time of publication.
New Report: AI-Powered Apps Struggle With Long-Term User Retention
As app stores become saturated with AI offerings, many developers assume integrating artificial intelligence is the surest path to profitability. Yet, a recent study examining the subscription ecosystem across iOS, Android, and web challenges this as
Anthropic Enters AI Legal Tech Market as Competition Intensifies
Anthropic unveiled a suite of new chatbot capabilities on Tuesday, aimed at delivering automated support to legal practices. These enhancements expand upon Claude for Legal, the firm-specific platform introduced earlier this year, by adding specializ
OpenAI Closes Gap With Anthropic Among Business Users, New Data Shows
With OpenAI and Anthropic still distant from their anticipated IPOs and the release of detailed financial reports, we must turn to alternative indicators to gauge their business performance. Ramp, a corporate credit card and expense management platfo
2026 Latest Best AI Visual Style Reference Tools for Character Sheets, Moodboards, and Pitch Decks are here on XIX.AI! This curated top-rated list features powerful game-changing tools that go through rigorous real-world tests. You’ll find a free vs paid comparison, detailed rankings, and must-try options to help you boost creativity and streamline your workflow. Explore now to discover your perfect tool for boosting productivity!
11 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-rated AI SERP Analysis Tools for Search Strategy are curated by XIX.AI through rigorous real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. These powerful tools help you unlock hidden optimization opportunities, boost content performance, and gain a competitive edge in search. Discover your perfect tool to elevate your search strategy today. Explore now!
13 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-rated AI Anomaly Detection Tools for KPI Monitoring in SaaS and Ecommerce teams! XIX.AI has curated a powerful, game-changing collection based on rigorous real-world tests and weekly updated rankings. You’ll find detailed free vs paid comparison insights to help you identify the must-try solution that boosts productivity and unlocks your AI edge. Explore now!
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best Top-Rated AI Outline Generators for Long-Form SEO Articles, meticulously curated by XIX.AI. These powerful tools offer game-changing assistance in creating high-quality content quickly, boosting writing efficiency significantly. Get a free vs paid comparison along with real-world tests and detailed rankings to help you find the must-try option that suits your needs. Explore now to unlock your AI edge.
8 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best AI Study Tools for Homework and Exam Prep! XIX.AI curates a top-rated list of powerful, game-changing tools that help students boost productivity, streamline homework completion, and ace exams through real-world tests. Get a free vs paid comparison, detailed rankings, and must-try options to unlock your AI edge. Explore now!
10 tools
xix.ai
2026 Latest Best AI Vocal Demo Tools for Songwriters, Hook Creators, and Multi-Language Content Teams! XIX.AI has curated a top-rated list of powerful game-changing tools that go through rigorous real-world tests. You’ll find detailed free vs paid comparison data, comprehensive rankings, and must-try options to help you boost writing efficiency and unlock your creative potential. Explore now to discover your perfect tool for all your content needs!
9 tools
xix.ai
