Open AI’s ChatGPT, the popular chatbot that took the world by storm last year, is facing a decline in usage amidst the hype surrounding generative AI. Data from Similarweb, an analytics company, revealed that for the third consecutive month, the usage of ChatGPT has dropped. In August, mobile website and desktop visits plummeted to 1.43 billion.
While this decline may seem concerning, there is hope for Open AI. ChatGPT has been widely embraced by internet users from various categories, including schoolchildren and software developers, since its launch. With its ability to code, write research papers, and more, it has become a go-to virtual buddy. It is surprising to see a slump in user traffic despite its vast use cases.
In addition to the decrease in monthly visits, Similarweb also noted that the average time spent using ChatGPT has decreased. From an average of 8.7 minutes in March, it dwindled to 7 minutes in August. Although the drop in user traffic was 10% in June and July, the decline in August was only 3%.
SimilarWeb’s report suggests that the decline in usage can be attributed to the summer break. During this time, schools are closed, and the large number of schoolchildren who typically use the chatbot for assignments and projects were not actively utilizing it. However, with the school season resuming, an increase in usage is anticipated.
David Carr of Similarweb explained, Students seeking homework help appears to be part of the story: the percentage of younger users of the website dropped over the summer and is now starting to bounce back.
Despite the fall in user traffic, ChatGPT continues to remain a major player in the market. It surpasses its competitors, Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Google’s Bard, with 1.4 billion visits globally, closely followed by Bing with 1.2 billion visits.
However, Open AI has been faced with other challenges recently. It was revealed a month ago that ChatGPT costs a staggering $700,000 per day to keep it online. This expense poses a risk to the company, as it could go bankrupt before the end of 2024 if the current trend continues.
Furthermore, Open AI has been under investigation for potential data privacy violations. Users of GPT4, an advanced version of ChatGPT, have also voiced complaints about its performance. Comparing it to its predecessor, they find GPT-4 to be lazier and dumber in terms of learning capabilities.
With these issues at hand, Open AI faces a challenging road ahead. However, given the popularity and potential of ChatGPT, there is still room for growth and improvement. As the landscape of AI continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Open AI navigates these obstacles while maintaining its position as a leading provider of generative AI technology.
