Sensor Tower estimates that ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, reached one billion monthly active users in May, becoming the first app to hit that milestone. Launched in November 2022, the service achieved the figure in roughly three and a half years, breaking the previous record held by Google Maps, which took five years to reach the same level.
Rapid growth among competitors
While ChatGPT leads in absolute user numbers, competitors have posted very fast growth. According to Sensor Tower, monthly usage of Anthropic’s Claude grew 640 percent year‑over‑year, and Meta AI expanded by 973 percent, while ChatGPT registered 62 percent growth over the same period. Other fast‑growing apps include Google Gemini and ByteDance’s Doubao.
Policy moves, public sentiment and user reactions
Model improvements explain part of the rivals’ gains, but public sentiment has also had a significant impact. After OpenAI announced in February that its models would be used on the Pentagon’s classified networks, deletions of ChatGPT accounts spiked by about 295 percent in a single day. In the same period, Anthropic’s Claude rose to the top of the App Store in the United States after the company publicly distanced itself from military uses.
IPO plans and market moves
Both companies are planning stock market listings. Anthropic filed its prospectus for a public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission one week before OpenAI, which subsequently filed its own IPO paperwork.
Adoption in the workforce and market forecasts
Despite growing societal concerns about artificial intelligence, adoption metrics point to rising use. A June survey by Boston Consulting Group of roughly 12,000 frontline workers found that 74 percent regularly use AI — a 23 percentage‑point increase year‑over‑year. More than 40 percent of regular AI users report saving about a full workday per week thanks to the technology.
The United Nations estimates the expanding AI market could exceed $4.8 trillion by 2033.
Conclusion
ChatGPT became the fastest software ever to reach one billion monthly users in under four years, even as rivals accelerate with triple‑digit growth rates. Technological advances, corporate strategies and public attitudes are jointly shaping a market whose economic significance is projected to grow substantially over the next decade.
