ChatGPT sees massive drop in website traffic. Here are possible reasons
ChatGPT
ChatGPT saw a drop in its active monthly users and website traffic in June, a firstsince its launch. The monthly traffic to the AI chatbot website dropped by 9.7 per cent in the last month from May, while unique visitors dropped by 5.7 per cent. As per the data available, the time spent by users on the website also decreased by 8.5 per cent.
Experts believe the drop in usage was an indication that there was more demand for generative AI with real-time information.
Similarweb's Senior Insights Manager David Carr said that the decreasing traffic is a sign of the “chatbot's novelty wearing off".
Fastest-growing consumer application ever
Despite the recent setback, ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, has gained massive popularity and achieved significant milestones since its launch. In just two months, it attracted a staggering 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application ever. Currently, ChatGPT boasts an impressive 1.5 billion monthly visits, securing its position as one of the top 20 websites worldwide.
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Its popularity is such that it has already dwarfed Microsoft's Bing in terms of monthly users, a search engine utilising OpenAI's technology. Although a few competitors like Google's Bard chatbot have entered the market recently, Bing continues to provide its users with a chatbot powered by OpenAI at no cost.
Possible reasons for the drop in usage
In May, OpenAI further expanded ChatGPT's reach by launching the ChatGPT app on iOS devices. While this move may have diverted some traffic away from the website, analysts speculate that the decrease in usage could also be attributed to the summer break, with fewer students seeking homework assistance.
Watch:OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT sued for 'stealing' people's data
According to data.ai, the iOS version of the chatbot has been downloaded over 17 million times globally as of July 4. Notably, the peak in downloads occurred on May 31, and the app remains popular in the United States, averaging 530,000 downloads per week during its initial six weeks of availability.
Decreasing traffic, good news for ChatGPT?
The recent growth slowdown may have a positive effect on managing the operational costs associated with running ChatGPT. OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman once referred to the cost of running the service as "eye-watering."
While ChatGPT is free to use, OpenAI also offers a premium subscription that allows users to access the more advanced GPT-4 model for $20 per month. According to YipitData's latest estimates, approximately 1.5 million people in the United States have subscribed to this premium service.
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