One AI app has taken over the no.1 spot on App Store as users quietly ditch ChatGPT
Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence assistant app, Claude, toppled rival OpenAI's ChatGPT from the number 1 spot on Apple's chart of the top U.S. free apps. The jump came late on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump sought to block Anthropic's tools from being used in government agencies, after the company drew "red lines" around the use of its AI models for mass surveillance and autonomous lethal weapons. Following its refusal, OpenAI struck a deal with the Department of Defense, and Anthropic seems to be benefiting from being in the news, as a social media movement has begun ditch ChatGPT for Claude.
Historically, other AI chat apps have dominated the top 10 charts, with Claude lingering lower in the list. However, on Saturday, OpenAI’s ChatGPT sat at number two on the App Store rankings while Claude took the top spot, and Google’s Gemini got relegated to number four, as per CNBC. This came shortly after Anthropic lost its Pentagon contract on Friday over disagreements around the military use of Claude. “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,” President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, blasting the company. “Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology,” the president added.
In a statement on X, the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, shared that he has instructed the Department of War to label Anthropic as a supply-chain risk to national security, so that no U.S. defense contractor would be able to integrate or draw on its tools. Hours after Anthropic's contract was cancelled, OpenAI announced its own Pentagon deal, sharing that the Department of Defense had agreed to the company's safety red lines. Reacting to the decision, Anthropic stated it would "challenge any supply chain risk designation in court," and no "intimidation or punishment from the Department of War" would force it to withdraw. However, even hours after the announcement from Trump directing federal use of Claude, reports from the Mint and several other publications suggest that Anthropic's AI and its tools were still used by the U.S. military during its Iran strikes. It is worth noting that Claude played a huge role in the capture of former Venezuelan leader Maduro.
While the long-term business impact of the government's decision is unclear for Anthropic, the short-term gains are significant. As some social media users called for boycotting ChatGPT over OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon, the signups to Anthropic's Claude have broken records. While Claude didn't even make it to the top 100 list at the end of January, and it only managed to reach the top 20 early in February, it climbed rapidly through the ranks in February and jumped from sixth on Wednesday to fourth on Thursday and then to the top on Saturday, according to data from Sensor Tower. A company spokesperson told CNBC that the number of free users has increased by over 60% since January, and paid subscribers have more than doubled in 2026.
Furthermore, Anthropic, which was formed by former OpenAI employees in 2021, has gained momentum in the corporate world as a supplier of models for coding and general corporate use. On the other hand, OpenAI's ChatGPT currently boasts over 900 million weekly users, and it has also been striking partnerships with businesses like Accenture and Capgemini to challenge Anthropic's surge.
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