ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, experienced a surprising decline in website traffic and unique visitors in June, marking its first decrease in user engagement since its launch in November. Analytics firm Similarweb reported that global traffic to the ChatGPT website, both from desktop and mobile devices, dropped by 9.7% compared to May, while unique visitors decreased by 5.7%. Additionally, the amount of time users spent on the website declined by 8.5%.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has yet to comment on the decline in traffic. The chatbot gained widespread popularity shortly after its launch and quickly amassed 100 million monthly active users by January, solidifying its place as the fastest-growing consumer application. Currently, ChatGPT boasts over 1.5 billion monthly visits, ranking it among the top 20 websites globally.
In fact, the AI-powered chatbot has surpassed the search engine Bing, developed by Microsoft, which also utilizes OpenAI’s technology. Several competitors have recently entered the market, including Google’s Bard chatbot and Bing’s own chatbot, both of which are available to users at no cost.
Industry experts believe that the decline in traffic could be attributed to the challenges of managing such rapid growth. Sarah Hindlian-Bowler, the head of Technology Research Americas at Macquarie, suggests that the sudden surge in user numbers may have put strain on the infrastructure of ChatGPT, leading to reduced accuracy. Hindlian-Bowler also notes that adjustments to the model’s training and compliance with potential regulations can impact its performance.
Other factors potentially contributing to the drop in traffic include the introduction of the ChatGPT app on iOS devices in May, which may have redirected some users away from the website. Additionally, the summer break for schools could have resulted in fewer students seeking homework assistance, further impacting user engagement.
The recent decline in growth may have a silver lining for OpenAI, as it could help alleviate the substantial costs associated with running ChatGPT. The chatbot requires significant computing power to handle user queries, contributing to what OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has referred to as eye-watering expenses.
While ChatGPT remains free to use, OpenAI offers a premium subscription that grants access to its more advanced model, GPT-4, for a fee of $20 per month. According to estimates from YipitData, approximately 1.5 million users have subscribed to this service. OpenAI projects revenue of $200 million for the current year. In addition to ChatGPT, the company generates income by selling API access to its AI models directly to developers and enterprises and through a partnership with Microsoft, which has invested over $10 billion in OpenAI.
The decline in traffic to ChatGPT’s website marks a significant development for the AI chatbot, highlighting potential challenges associated with rapid scalability. OpenAI will likely need to address these issues to stabilize and maintain its user base, while continuing to explore revenue-generating opportunities within its growing ecosystem.
