Anthropic’s chatbot Claude appears to have gained from the publicity surrounding its complex discussions with the Pentagon.
According to a CNBC report, Claude is now ranked second among free apps in Apple’s US App Store as of Saturday afternoon. The top app is OpenAI’s ChatGPT, followed by Google Gemini at number three.
Based on SensorTower data, Claude was just outside the top 100 at the end of January and has mostly ranked in the top 20 throughout February. Its position has improved in recent days, rising from sixth position on Wednesday to fourth on Thursday and reaching second on Saturday.
After Anthropic’s efforts to secure guarantees against the Department of Defense using its AI for mass domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using Anthropic products and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth labeled the company a supply-chain risk.
Following this, OpenAI revealed its own arrangement with the Pentagon, which CEO Sam Altman stated includes protections regarding domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.