ChatGPT, the popular generative AI-based chatbot developed by OpenAI, appears to be facing a decline in its user base and overall charm. According to a recent report by Engadget via The Washington Post, traffic on both the mobile and web versions of the ChatGPT website globally fell by 9.7 percent in June. This decline marks the first time since its launch in late 2022 that ChatGPT has experienced a decrease in traffic.
The downward trend extends beyond ChatGPT alone, as other generative AI-based platforms like Google Bard and Character.AI have also witnessed a decrease in website visitors. Even Microsoft Bing, which experienced a surge in traffic earlier this year following its integration with ChatGPT, now sees monthly traffic at pre-integration levels.
User engagement with ChatGPT has also experienced a decline, with Similarweb reporting an 8.5 percent decrease in user minutes as of May 2023. While the exact reasons for this decline remain uncertain, Engadget suggests that the conclusion of the current school and college sessions could be a contributing factor. With many students on summer break, there may be less demand for ChatGPT’s paper-writing service.
Despite the decrease in user base for public generative AI websites, this is not a major concern for the companies involved. As the service is costly, the decline in traffic could potentially lead to cost savings for these companies, as OpenAI’s CEO previously pointed out.
Meanwhile, OpenAI has announced the general availability of GPT-4, its latest text-generating model. Developers can now access GPT-4 through its API, although initial access will be limited to developers with a history of successful payments. OpenAI plans to expand access to new developers by the end of the month based on compute availability.
GPT-4 is a more advanced successor to GPT-3.5, capable of generating text that includes codes and accepting image and text inputs. This latest model signifies OpenAI’s continuous efforts to enhance the capabilities of its AI language models.
In conclusion, ChatGPT is currently facing a decline in its user base and engagement. While the exact reasons for this downturn remain unclear, it could be attributed to various factors such as the conclusion of the academic year. However, this decline does not pose a significant concern for the companies involved, as it may lead to cost savings. OpenAI continues to push boundaries with the release of GPT-4, offering an improved text-generating model to further meet the demands of developers.
