Is the ChatGPT honeymoon already over? The popular generative AI platform has reportedly had a decline in monthly traffic and unique visitors for the first time since it launched in November 2022.
There’s no denying that ChatGPT has had a significant impact on the business world over the last few months. Employees around the world have used it for everything from emails to coding, and productivity has enjoyed a notable bump as a result.
However, with so many AI alternatives popping up, it’s possible that the sun is already setting on the explosive popularity of ChatGPT.
AI on Decline in June
According to insights from Similarweb.com, ChatGPT isn’t soaring like it was just last month. The monthly worldwide traffic fell by 9.7%, with US use falling even more, declining by 10.3% from May to June.
Traffic wasn’t the only metric that ChatGPT saw a decline in, either. Its unique visitor numbers were down by 5.7% and time spent using the service declined by 8.5% during the same time period.
ChatGPT isn’t the only generative AI platform that is having trouble. Character AI, a service that allows you to interact with AI-generated personalities in real time, also saw a drop in worldwide visits by 32% from May to June.
ChatGPT Growing Pains
While ChatGPT saw unfettered success over the course of the last few months, it has since begun to falter in some major ways. For starters, organizations have begun banning the use of ChatGPT at work for employees. Companies like Samsung and Apple have both put restrictions on the tech, and even US Congress has insisted that staff limit their use of the generative AI platform.
On top of that, security concerns have begun to creep up as ChatGPT has gotten more popular. Some account credentials were even discovered on the dark web, encouraging many users to investigate the ChatGPT privacy policy to find out what kind of data gets saved on the platform.
That’s not all, either. Pushes to regulate AI platforms like ChatGPT have been fervent from government officials and tech experts have been vocal about its potential negative impacts. Pioneers like Steve Wozniak and even Elon Musk have signed open letters calling for pauses to the technology to explore the potential ramifications of exploring the tech unchecked.
All that to say, the decline of ChatGPT is understandable, given the number of problems that have arisen in just the last few months.
The Beginning of the End for AI?
While these declining numbers and mounting controversies are likely causing some concern at OpenAI, the reality is that ChatGPT was so popular for so long that a monthly decline was bound to happen at some point. After all, the service saw meteoric growth in a few short months, dwarfing even the popularity of pandemic-era Zoom, which saw its fair share of security problems as a result of the influx of new users.
In earnest, there aren’t enough people on Earth for ChatGPT to maintain its level of growth over such a short period of time. That, combined with the “eye-watering” infrastructure costs made a decline in users inevitable for the generative AI platform.
Simply put, ChatGPT isn’t going anywhere. The technology remains a groundbreaking new tool when it comes to productivity, and it will likely have a notable impact on the world at large over the course of its lifetime. Still, if it doesn’t address some of the more pressing concerns, it could leave the door open for an alternative like Google Bard to take the top spot.
