Claude overtakes ChatGPT as #1 app following Anthropic's Pentagon dispute over AI ethics

Anthropic's Claude rises to No. 2 in the App Store following Pentagon dispute | TechCrunch

Anthropic's chatbot Claude seems to have benefited from the attention around the company's fraught negotiations with the Pentagon. As first reported by CNBC, as of Saturday afternoon, Claude is currently ranked number two among free apps in Apple's US App Store -- the number one app is OpenAI's ChatGPT, and number three is Google Gemini. According to data from SensorTower, Claude was just outside the top 100 at the end of January, and has spent most of February somewhere in the top 20. Its ranking has climbed in the last few days, from sixth on Wednesday to fourth on Thursday to second on Saturday (today). After Anthropic attempted to negotiate for safeguards preventing the Department of Defense from using its AI models for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to stop using all Anthropic products and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he's designating the company a supply-chain threat. OpenAI subsequently announced its own agreement with the Pentagon, which CEO Sam Altman claimed includes safeguards related to domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.

Anthropic's Claude hits No. 2 on Apple's top free apps list after Pentagon rejection

Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence assistant app jumped to the No. 2 slot on Apple's chart of top U.S. free apps late on Friday, hours after the Trump administration sought to block government agencies' adoption of the startup's technology. The rise in popularity suggests that Anthropic is benefiting from its presence in news headlines, stemming from its refusal to have its models used for mass domestic surveillance or for fully autonomous weapons. "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 Donald Trump wrote in a Friday Truth Social post. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he asked that Anthropic be labeled as a supply-chain risk to national security, and therefore, no U.S. defense contractor would be able to draw on Anthropic tools. "It is the Department's prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a statement. "But given the substantial value that Anthropic's technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider." Historically, other AI chat apps have been more popular among consumers than Claude. OpenAI's ChatGPT sat at No. 1 on the App Store rankings on Saturday, while Google's Gemini was at No. 3. The Claude iOS app has gained momentum this month. On Jan. 30, it was ranked No. 131 in the U.S., and it bounced between the top 20 and the top 50 for much of February, according to data from analytics company Sensor Tower. The data shows ChatGPT has held on to the No. 1 spot for most of February. In the past year, Anthropic -- which was formed in 2021 by former OpenAI employees -- has gained momentum as a supplier of models for coding and general corporate use. OpenAI, whose ChatGPT now has over 900 million weekly users, has been responding to Anthropic's surge in business by striking partnerships with consulting firms such as Accenture and Capgemini. On Friday night, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the startup had reached an agreement with the U.S. Defense Department on the deployment of its models. Hours later, pop singer Katy Perry posted a screenshot of Anthropic's Pro subscription for consumers, with a heart superimposed over it.

Claude is the Number 2 Free App in Apple’s App Store Now

In your lifetime, you have no doubt witnessed backlashes, cancellations, and the Streisand Effect. You have seen social media sites become bad, and alternatives crop up and become bad themselves. You have seen Chick Fil-A protested for too much homophobia, and later for not enough homophobia. You've seen members of the Dixie Chicks apologize to George W. Bush, and then un-apologize and rebrand, and then rebrand again. You've seen George H.W. Bush say "we need more families like The Waltons than The Simpsons" in a campaign speech only to lose, and see The Simpsons become so successful it eventually became as anodyne as The Waltons. And now they're cancelling Claude. Is it going to make Claude more powerful? The earliest of early indicators suggest it may. You probably know by now the President has sought to use the tools available to him to annihilate the AI company Anthropic. And you may know that he has said in a Truth Social post, “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.†Well, CNBC noticed Friday evening that the Claude app has risen to number 2 on Apple’s top U.S. free apps chart â€"almost immediately after the Trump administration gave the company a massive amount of free marketing by denouncing it, helped broker a deal between Anthropic's main rival, OpenAI, and the Pentagon, and then started a major new war. I don't know if the upswing in Claude usage is meant to be a form of protest, but if you are trying out Claude as a little protest against the war, may I suggest asking Claude the following question: "Hey Claude, is changing which AI chatbot I use going to help end a war?" I hope that helps.

Claude hits #1 on the App Store as users rally behind Anthropic's government standoff - 9to5Mac

AI chatbots currently take up the top three spots on the US App Store's Top Downloaded charts. For Anthropic's Claude, which takes the first-place position right now, that's a jump from 42nd place just two months ago. OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini are currently the second and third top downloaded apps, respectively. For Anthropic, the newly minted first place position isn't because of some new feature or capability. Instead, the week-long saga between Anthropic and the US government seems to have thrust Claude to the top of the App Store. Anthropic was the target of ire by both President Trump and Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday. "In conjunction with the President's directive for the Federal Government to cease all use of Anthropic's technology, I am directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security," Hegseth wrote on X. "Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic," Hegseth continued. "Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service." Anthropic responded by pointing to two reasons it disagrees with the US military's intended use of its technology: "We held to our exceptions for two reasons. First, we do not believe that today's frontier AI models are reliable enough to be used in fully autonomous weapons. Allowing current models to be used in this way would endanger America's warfighters and civilians. Second, we believe that mass domestic surveillance of Americans constitutes a violation of fundamental rights." While the long-term consequences of this disagreement are unclear, Anthropic appears to be winning in mindshare, at least for now, in terms of app downloads among iPhone users.

Anthropic's Claude overtakes ChatGPT as #1 in App Store

In the battle for AI supremacy, Anthropic's Claude has just managed to dethrone OpenAI's ChatGPT in Apple's App Store, claiming the #1 spot as the most-downloaded free app in the United States, leaving ChatGPT in second and Google's Gemini a distant fourth. This sudden surge in the rankings is almost certainly due to public backlash at a recent announcement by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, released on X, that they would work with the Department of Defense (unofficially titled the Department of War) to deploy artificial intelligence through its classified networks. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This announcement comes on the heels of a public stand by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei against the unrestricted use of AI by governments, in which he specifically highlighted the dangers of both "mass domestic surveillance" and "fully autonomous weapons" powered by AI. While much of the general public, nervous about the speed and scope of AI's sudden prominence, viewed this as a principled stand, President Donald Trump saw it as a rebuke of government policy: "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," he wrote in a Truth Social post. The Trump administration, acting through Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has since sought to designate Anthropic as a "supply-chain risk to national security," an unprecedented label for an American company and a move that would make it impossible for them to secure government contracts in the future. In a cross-company show of support for Anthropic's stance, more than 700 employees of both Google and OpenAI have signed an open letter, "We Will Not Be Divided," that concludes forcefully: "We hope our leaders will put aside their differences and stand together to continue to refuse the Department of War's current demands for permission to use our models for domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people without human oversight." More recently, and as proof that the average person is sensitive to these ethical issues, the general public is weighing in as well, shifting their loyalty from ChatGPT to Claude. To put this shift into perspective, an Anthropic spokesperson told Mashable over email that free users up 60%+ since January, daily signups tripled since November (breaking the all-time record every day this week), and paid subscribers more than doubled this year." Per the spokesperson, Anthropic ranked #42 before Super Bowl LX and has since ranked in the top 10 in the US app charts. With the AI revolution still in full swing, the battle for its soul is still being fought, and this latest flare-up proves that the average person still has leverage.

Anthropic got blacklisted by the Pentagon. Then Claude hit No. 1 in the app store.

Why it matters: The long-term business impact for Anthropic remains unclear. But in the short term, the clash has fueled interest in Claude, as some social media users call for dumping ChatGPT over OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon. Catch up quick: Anthropic lost its Pentagon contract Friday over a dispute about military use of Claude, shortly after President Trump blasted it as a "Radical Left AI company." * Anthropic drew red lines against using its AI for mass surveillance and autonomous lethal weapons. * Hours later, OpenAI -- maker of ChatGPT -- announced its own Pentagon deal after the Defense Department agreed to safety red lines similar to Anthropic's. * Anthropic vowed to "challenge any supply chain risk designation in court," and said no "intimidation or punishment from the Department of War" would force it to cave. Zoom in: The Instagram account "quitGPT" gained about 10,000 followers following the news, according to its operator. * A Reddit post about OpenAI winning the Pentagon contract racked up 30,000 upvotes under a post saying "Cancel and Delete ChatGPT!!!" * A viral video appeared to show chalk art outside Anthropic's offices in San Francisco reading "you give us courage." * People on social media have pointed to OpenAI president Greg Brockman's previous $25 million donation to a pro-Trump super PAC as part of their rationale for moving away from ChatGPT By the numbers: Data from OpenRouter measuring model usage over the last month shows twelve different models now outpace OpenAI. * Claude's Sonnet 4.5 ranked fifth for February, according to the data, and the top model was from China-based MiniMax. Reality check: ChatGPT is still right behind Claude on the app store charts and has a first-mover advantage on AI. What's next: While the winners and losers of the AI race are constantly shipping, Claude has been on fire, particularly with enterprises after several product launches made for swift business adoption.

Anthropic's Claude Tops Apple App Store Charts Day After Trump Administration Bars Agency Use - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Anthropic's Claude AI assistant app has climbed to the number one spot on Apple's App Store charts in the U.S. amid a backdrop of political controversy. Claude's Rise Amid Controversy Anthropic's Claude AI assistant app surged to the top position on Apple's free apps chart in the U.S. on Saturday, according to a report by CNBC. This comes a day after the Trump administration attempted to block government agencies from adopting the AI startup's technology. The app's popularity appears to be influenced by its recent media attention, which is linked to its stance against using its models for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. President Donald Trump criticized Anthropic on Truth Social, calling their actions a "DISASTROUS MISTAKE." Pete Hegseth, the Department of Defense Secretary, has asked for Anthropic to be considered a supply-chain risk, preventing U.S. defense contractors from using its tools. In response, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, expressed hope for reconsideration due to the value their technology offers to the military. How Are Rivals Faring?Claude Used In Operation Against Iran Just hours after the Trump administration's ban, the Pentagon reportedly used Claude AI during a major air operation against Iran. Amodei has expressed concerns about the rapid concentration of AI power among a few companies, raising questions about the influence these entities wield. The launch of Claude Code Security, an AI-driven tool for identifying software vulnerabilities, has also stirred the cybersecurity sector. This tool's ability to autonomously detect complex software flaws underscores the potential and risks associated with AI advancements. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.