Anthropic’s Claude chatbot surged to the top of Apple’s US App Store chart on Saturday, displacing OpenAI’s ChatGPT amid a growing user backlash over OpenAI’s recently announced contract with the US Department of Defense. The shift in app store rankings followed a deal announced Friday in which the Pentagon tapped OpenAI to supply artificial intelligence to classified military networks, a contract Anthropic previously declined due to ethical concerns.
The move to OpenAI came after the Trump administration sought to terminate a contract with Anthropic after the AI startup raised concerns about its products being used for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated his company “cannot in good conscience accede to [the department’s] request,” adding that the government threatened to designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk.”
The Pentagon’s decision and subsequent deal with OpenAI ignited a wave of protests online, with users calling for a “Cancel ChatGPT” boycott on platforms like Reddit and X. Some users shared guides for deleting their ChatGPT accounts and migrating to Claude, accusing OpenAI of opportunism after CEO Sam Altman had previously expressed support for Anthropic’s stance.
While Claude’s ascent to the top of the US App Store charts was decisive, its performance on the Google Play Store was more muted, ranking fifth as of Monday, with ChatGPT remaining in the number two spot. Claude as well climbed the iPhone app charts in the UK but did not surpass ChatGPT.
The surge in popularity led to outages for Claude and other Anthropic applications early Monday, as the company reported “unprecedented demand” over the past week. More than 1,400 users reported disruptions, but Anthropic stated the issue was resolved by 11am ET.
Anthropic reported a significant increase in user activity even before the Pentagon announcement. Free active users increased by over 60% at the start of the year, with daily sign-ups quadrupling. Paid subscriptions also more than doubled.
The federal government has accused Anthropic of overstepping, with former President Donald Trump stating on his Truth Social platform that the company had made a “DISASTROUS MISTAKE” by attempting to “STRONG-ARM” the Department of Defense.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced the deal with the Pentagon on Friday, stating that the military would not use ChatGPT for autonomous killing systems or mass surveillance. However, this claim has been met with skepticism from AI experts, lawyers, and users, who question why the government would abandon its partnership with Anthropic, given the stated safeguards were similar.
Anthropic has streamlined the transition for fresh users with its memory feature, allowing users to import existing conversations and seamlessly continue their work. The company provides a prompt for users wishing to leave ChatGPT in favor of Claude.
As of Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had not publicly responded to Anthropic’s challenge to its designation as a supply chain risk.
