Significant Drop: ChatGPT’s Traffic Witnesses an Almost 10% Decline in June

**The Rise and Fall of ChatGPT: Is the Hype Fading?**

**ChatGPT: The Fastest-Growing App in History**

Last year, OpenAI developed a revolutionary chatbot called ChatGPT. This viral chatbot quickly gained popularity, attracting over 100 million monthly active users within a short period of time. In fact, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app in history. The introduction of generative A.I. technology through ChatGPT prompted other tech giants to rapidly adopt this new technology. CEOs started evaluating their labor needs, and the A.I. industry experienced a rally in stocks worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

**The Decline in ChatGPT’s Popularity**

However, it seems that people may be growing tired of chatbots. Traffic to ChatGPT’s website saw a significant decline in June. Preliminary estimates from Similarweb, a web analytics firm, revealed that traffic to ChatGPT’s website fell by 9.7% overall and by 10.3% in the U.S. The number of unique visitors also dropped by 5.7% compared to the previous month.

**ChatGPT Still Leads in A.I.-Powered Chatbots**

Despite the decline in traffic, ChatGPT remains the most visited site offering an A.I.-powered chatbot. It receives more global traffic than Microsoft’s Bing search engine, even though Microsoft recently launched its own GPT-powered chatbot. Google’s chatbot, Bard, does not even rank in Similarweb’s top three, trailing behind character.ai, a startup that allows users to create and develop their own chatbots. character.ai has gained popularity with chatbots based on well-known personalities such as Elon Musk, Marvel’s Tony Stark, and Nintendo’s Mario. The startup raised $150 million in late March, with a valuation of $1 billion.

**Efforts from OpenAI and Microsoft**

OpenAI, Microsoft, character.ai, and Google have not yet provided comments on the decline in ChatGPT’s popularity. However, for OpenAI, the decrease in traffic may not be a concern. David Carr, a senior insights manager at Similarweb, explains that ChatGPT is a “loss leader generating sales leads.” OpenAI intends to market its A.I. services to business clients, while Microsoft, which has invested $10 billion into OpenAI, also sells the A.I. developer’s services and incorporates the technology into their products like Office.

**Data Privacy Concerns and OpenAI’s Response**

While corporate leaders are enthusiastic about A.I., some companies are concerned about data privacy. They caution employees against sharing confidential or sensitive information through ChatGPT. OpenAI addresses these concerns by no longer training its models on data from paying customers, as revealed by CEO Sam Altman in an interview with CNBC.

**Conclusion**

The rise and fall in ChatGPT’s popularity have been a significant development in the tech industry. While the decline in traffic may raise concerns, OpenAI’s focus on marketing its A.I. services and collaboration with Microsoft indicates a strategic approach to sustain its position in the market. Data privacy concerns have also prompted OpenAI to take steps to address these issues, ensuring the trust and confidence of their users. As the A.I. landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how ChatGPT and other A.I. chatbots adapt and thrive in this ever-changing industry.