ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot introduced in November, saw a decline in its website’s monthly traffic and unique visitors for the first time in June, according to Similarweb, an analytics firm. Globally, desktop and mobile traffic to the ChatGPT website decreased by 9.7% in June compared to May, while the number of unique visitors dropped by 5.7%. Additionally, visitors spent 8.5% less time on the website.
Similarweb’s Senior Insights Manager, David Carr, believes that the decline in traffic indicates a decrease in the novelty of the chatbot. However, Rishi Jaluria, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, suggests that the data shows a growing demand for generative AI that provides real-time information.
Since its launch, ChatGPT has gained immense popularity, attracting over 100 million monthly active users within just two months. It has even surpassed Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, which incorporates OpenAI’s technology, in terms of popularity.
Recently, competitors to ChatGPT, such as Google’s Bard chatbot, have entered the market. Additionally, Microsoft’s search engine Bing offers a free chatbot powered by OpenAI to its users.
Sarah Hindlian-Bowler, head of Technology Research Americas at Macquarie, explains that rapid growth, from zero to 100 million users, comes with challenges. The heavy infrastructure required can result in decreased accuracy. Hindlian-Bowler mentions the need to modify the model and address potential regulatory implications.
In May, OpenAI released the ChatGPT app on the iOS platform, potentially diverting traffic from the website. The app’s popularity can be attributed, in part, to the summer break, which has resulted in fewer students seeking homework assistance.
According to analytics firm data.ai, the ChatGPT app has been downloaded over 17 million times globally as of July 4. Its highest number of downloads occurred on May 31, and it has consistently maintained its popularity in the United States, averaging 530,000 weekly downloads during its first six weeks of availability.
