AI Boom Slows?… ChatGPT Sees First User Decline Last Month

'Bing' Equipped with ChatGPT Also Faces Market Share Decline
"AI May Not Threaten Google Search"

OpenAI's 'ChatGPT', which sparked the generative artificial intelligence (AI) craze, has recorded a decline in monthly users for the first time since its launch.

According to the website traffic statistics homepage 'SimilarWeb' on the 5th (local time), traffic to the ChatGPT website in June decreased by 9.7% compared to the previous month. The number of unique visitors also dropped by 5.7%, and the time users spent on the website decreased by 8.5% compared to May.

ChatGPT [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

This is the first time since its release in November last year that the number of visitors to ChatGPT has declined. According to mobile market data analytics company 'Sensor Tower', the number of ChatGPT downloads on iPhones in the U.S. last month also fell by 38% compared to the previous month. Downloads of Microsoft's (MS) 'Bing' app, which incorporates ChatGPT's API, also decreased by 38%.

ChatGPT caused a 'storm' by reaching 100 million active users just two months after its launch. Some predicted that it could completely change traditional internet usage methods such as Google search. However, as growth has recently slowed, voices expressing doubts about these forecasts are increasing.

Justin Post, an analyst at Bank of America, said, "If ChatGPT adoption slows down, it could mean that this technology might not pose a significant threat to Google Search," adding, "Google may not need to rush to integrate AI chatbots into its search engine."

Last month, Google's search engine market share was 92%, which actually increased compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, Bing, which incorporates ChatGPT, saw its market share slightly decline to 2.8%. This suggests that the effect of ChatGPT has been minimal so far.

However, some analyses suggest that since ChatGPT has grown rapidly, it is merely going through a simple adjustment period. With school vacations starting in several countries last month, demand for ChatGPT among students decreased, and since ChatGPT can now be downloaded as an app on smartphones such as the iPhone, website visitors may have declined.

Regarding this, Sarah Hindleyan Bowler, head of technology research at investment firm Macquarie, speculated, "(ChatGPT) grew rapidly from zero users to 100 million users," adding, "There will be growing pains."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.