ChatGPT storms past 1 billion users as AI backlash fails to bite

OpenAI's ChatGPT has achieved a landmark milestone, becoming the fastest application ever to reach one billion monthly users.

The achievement comes at a time when artificial intelligence is facing growing scrutiny from workers, students, policymakers, and even leading AI developers.

Yet despite mounting concerns over the technology's impact on jobs, privacy, and society, user adoption continues to accelerate across the globe.

According to estimates from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, ChatGPT reached one billion monthly active users (MAUs) in May, roughly three-and-a-half years after its launch in November 2022.

The milestone eclipses the previous record held by Google Maps, which took around five years to reach the same level of adoption.

The latest figures highlight a widening gap between public sentiment and consumer behaviour, with AI platforms attracting record numbers of users even as concerns about the technology become more pronounced.

ChatGPT dominates the AI market

OpenAI's flagship chatbot continues to lead the rapidly expanding AI market by a significant margin.

The company said in February that ChatGPT had surpassed 900 million weekly active users across web and mobile platforms.

OpenAI also claimed that the platform generated more than six times the monthly web visits and mobile sessions of its nearest AI competitor.

Sensor Tower data shows that ChatGPT remains the most widely used AI application, ahead of rival platforms including Google’s Gemini, ByteDance’s Doubao, and its overseas variant Dola, as well as Anthropic’s Claude.

However, competitors are beginning to narrow the gap.

According to Sensor Tower estimates, monthly usage of Claude rose 640% year-on-year, while Meta AI recorded growth of 973%.

In comparison, ChatGPT's user base grew 62% over the same period.

Abe Yousef, Senior Insights Analyst at Sensor Tower, told cnbc, that competing platforms have benefited from improvements in their underlying models as well as changing perceptions among users.

Public sentiment influences user behaviour

While AI adoption continues to rise, public sentiment has increasingly become a factor in how users engage with different platforms.

Yousef pointed to OpenAI’s February agreement with the US Department of Defense as a notable example.

According to Sensor Tower, ChatGPT app uninstalls surged by approximately 295% day-on-day on February 28, one day after OpenAI announced its Pentagon partnership.

At the same time, Anthropic experienced a boost in user interest.

Claude climbed to the top spot on the App Store that weekend and surpassed ChatGPT in US downloads for the first time after the company declined involvement in Pentagon-related operations.

The rivalry between the two companies has also intensified as both prepare for public listings.

OpenAI submitted its initial public offering filing on Monday, shortly after Anthropic filed its IPO prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission a week earlier.

AI concerns continue to grow

The rapid adoption of AI has been accompanied by increasing warnings about the risks associated with the technology.

Anthropic recently called for a pause in global AI development, cautioning that unchecked progress could become difficult to control.

“If systems are capable of fully building their own successors, the ways we secure them, monitor them, and shape their behavior all grow much more important,” the company wrote in a blog post.

The concerns mirror warnings issued by Pope Leo in a letter published on May 25, where he highlighted risks including widening inequality and threats to public safety arising from growing AI demand.

Questions surrounding AI's impact have also surfaced on university campuses.

During commencement ceremonies across the United States, graduates reportedly jeered references to AI amid fears that the technology could replace entry-level jobs and create broader ethical and environmental challenges.

Adoption momentum remains intact

Despite growing scepticism, industry experts believe AI adoption is unlikely to slow.

The United Nations has estimated that the global AI market could exceed $4.8 trillion by 2033, underscoring expectations for continued growth.

“While negative sentiment towards AI is undeniably growing, consumers are increasingly using and relying on these platforms,” Sensor Tower's Yousef said as cited in a CNBC report.