ChatGPT Crosses Billion-User Benchmark Amid AI Rivalry
OpenAI’s popular chatbot ChatGPT has reached a historic milestone amid the global surge of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. According to a recent report by market intelligence and data analytics firm Sensor Tower, the ChatGPT app has surpassed 1 billion global monthly active users (MAUs) at a record pace, becoming the fastest mobile application in history to achieve the landmark.
No mobile application has previously reached the one-billion active-user mark so rapidly. The new record comes at a time of intense competition between OpenAI and its leading rival Anthropic for dominance in the rapidly expanding AI market.
Analysis of Sensor Tower data shows that ChatGPT crossed the 1 billion monthly active user milestone in May. Launched in late 2022, the app achieved the feat in roughly three and a half years.
With this achievement, ChatGPT has surpassed the growth pace previously set by widely popular applications such as Google Maps, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. However, despite this remarkable success, OpenAI faces a growing challenge from Claude, the chatbot developed by Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI executives.
According to Sensor Tower’s analysis of the U.S. market, ChatGPT users who installed Anthropic’s Claude app during the first quarter of 2026 spent approximately 5 percent less time using ChatGPT within a month of installation compared with their average usage during the previous eight months. The findings suggest that Claude’s enhanced capabilities are beginning to attract a notable share of ChatGPT’s established user base.
The rivalry between the two AI giants has also intensified on the financial front. On Monday, Anthropic confidentially filed draft documents for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), reportedly targeting a valuation approaching US$1 trillion.
Meanwhile, Reuters has reported that OpenAI is also preparing to file for its own IPO within the coming weeks. A public-market showdown between the two companies could significantly reshape the future competitive landscape of the AI industry.
In terms of user growth rates, Claude has already outpaced ChatGPT. As of the second quarter of 2026, Claude had approximately 56 million global monthly active users. However, its year-over-year user growth rate stood at an impressive 640 percent, compared with ChatGPT’s 62 percent growth rate over the same period.
Industry analysts believe that while ChatGPT remains far ahead in overall user numbers, Claude’s rapid growth trajectory and its ability to capture user engagement time could pose a significant challenge to OpenAI’s dominance in the years ahead.
DBTech/BMT/OR
