ChatGPT Nears 700 Million Weekly Users, Outpacing Rivals Amid Shifting AI Landscape

The artificial intelligence (AI) landscape is witnessing a significant shift in user preference and market dominance, with OpenAI's ChatGPT rapidly expanding its user base while Anthropic's Claude reportedly faces increasing challenges. Social media observations, such as one by "Chubby♨️," noted a "strange how the vibe is turning against Claude and increasingly positive toward OpenAI and ChatGPT. The former bubble darling Anthropic is increasingly losing favor."

OpenAI's ChatGPT has demonstrated remarkable growth, nearing 700 million weekly active users by August 2025, quadrupling its user base in just one year, according to TechCrunch. The ChatGPT mobile app alone has amassed $2 billion in global consumer spending since its May 2023 launch, significantly outperforming competitors like Claude by approximately 30 times. This surge is attributed to continuous product enhancements and strategic market initiatives.

Conversely, Anthropic's Claude has seen a reported decline in popularity. Industry analysis indicates that Claude's web traffic and user engagement in January 2025 were substantially lower compared to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Performance benchmarks suggest Claude frequently falls outside the top ten models for intelligence, human preference, and coding capabilities, challenging its previous standing as a top-tier large language model.

Business utility and pricing concerns have also impacted Claude's adoption. Restrictive rate limits, even on paid plans, have frustrated enterprise users, hindering widespread implementation. The introduction of the "Claude Max" plan, offering higher limits, still imposes session caps, which some analysts suggest may alienate power users seeking scalable solutions.

OpenAI has maintained a rapid pace of innovation throughout 2025, launching new models like GPT-5 and GPT-4.1, alongside significant feature enhancements. These include advanced voice modes, upgraded image generation, and the introduction of a general-purpose AI agent. The company has also pursued strategic expansions, offering ChatGPT Enterprise to federal agencies and launching more affordable subscription plans in markets like India.

Despite these challenges, some reports offer a contrasting view on Anthropic's enterprise standing. An August 2025 article from Technology.org indicated that Anthropic's Claude models captured a 32% enterprise market share, surpassing OpenAI in business AI adoption in specific sectors, particularly programming applications. Anthropic, co-founded by former OpenAI executives, remains recognized for its foundational commitment to AI safety and reducing model risk.