May brought divergent outcomes for two prominent players in the AI chatbot realm. While ChatGPT, a pioneering chatbot, encountered a deceleration in its growth, Google Bard, a newer entrant, witnessed a remarkable upswing in popularity, with its traffic surging by an impressive 187%.
Quick facts:
- ChatGPT’s website traffic and unique visitors saw a decline in June, indicating a potential slowdown in growth.
- Worldwide desktop and mobile traffic to ChatGPT decreased by 9.7% compared to the previous month.
- Unique visitors to the website dropped by 5.7%, while the average time spent on the site decreased by 8.5%.
- Meanwhile, Google Bard experienced a remarkable 187% increase in traffic, showcasing the competitive nature of the AI chatbot market.
ChatGPT, the highly popular AI chatbot that took the world by storm since its launch in November, experienced a decline in monthly traffic and unique visitors in June, marking the first instance of a traffic slowdown.
Similarweb, an analytics firm, has revealed a decline in worldwide desktop and mobile traffic to the ChatGPT website in June. According to their data, there was a decrease of 9.7% compared to the previous month.
ChatGPT Growth Curve: Similarweb
Additionally, unique visitors to the website dropped by 5.7%, while the average time spent on the site decreased by 8.5%.
Potential Shift in User Interest?
The decline in traffic suggests a potential shift in user interest as the initial novelty of the chatbot wears off, according to David Carr, Senior Insights Manager at Similarweb.
ChatGPT witnessed an extraordinary surge in popularity, reaching significant milestones shortly after its launch. By January, it had accumulated 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history.
Presently, ChatGPT boasts over 1.5 billion monthly visits, securing a position among the top 20 websites worldwide.
Insights into ChatGPT’s Traffic Slowdown
Despite its remarkable success, ChatGPT now faces competition in the AI chatbot landscape. Recent introductions like Google’s Bard chatbot and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot aim to capitalize on the growing demand for AI-driven conversational platforms.
Several factors may have influenced the decline in ChatGPT’s website traffic. The release of the ChatGPT app for iOS devices in May could have contributed to a shift in user behavior, diverting some traffic away from the website.
Additionally, the summer break for schools may have played a role, with fewer students seeking homework assistance during this period.
While the slowdown in growth may raise concerns, it presents an opportunity for OpenAI to reassess its strategies and adapt to evolving market dynamics.
Managing the operational costs of ChatGPT, which requires substantial computing power, is a key consideration. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has acknowledged the significant expenses associated with running the service.
ChatGPT continues to offer free usage, while also providing a premium subscription option for $20 per month, granting access to OpenAI’s advanced model, GPT-4. Estimates from YipitData suggest that approximately 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. have subscribed to this premium service.
In addition to ChatGPT, OpenAI generates revenue through API access to its AI models, catering to developers and enterprises. The company’s partnership with Microsoft, which involved a substantial investment, further supports its financial prospects.
