AI chatbots are currently occupying the top three spots on most downloaded apps charts App Store US In first placeis Anthropic's Claude. That's a huge jump, considering the chatbot was in 42nd place just two months ago.
OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google 's Gemini are currently in second and third place respectively.
See also: Claude Code: Vulnerabilities allow RCE attacks and API key theft
Trump Administration vs. Anthropic Claude
For Anthropic, its recent rise to the top spot isn't due to any new feature or functionality. Rather, the week-long standoff between Anthropic and the US government appears to have propelled Claude to the top of the App Store.
Anthropic has been the target of criticism from both President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
“By order of the President, the federal government is directed to cease all use of Anthropic’s technology and I am directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic as Supply Chain Risk National Security,” Hegseth wrote in X.
“From now on, no contractor, supplier or partner working with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic,” Hegseth continued. “Anthropic will continue to provide its services to the Department of War for a period of no more than six months, to allow for a smooth transition to a better and more patriotic service.”
See also: How Claude Codes
Anthropic responded by highlighting two reasons why it disagrees with the proposed use of its technology by the US military:
“We have reserved our exemptions for two reasons. First, we do not believe that current AI models are reliable enough to be used in fully autonomous weapons. Using current models in this way would endanger American combatants and citizens. Second, we believe that mass domestic surveillance of Americans constitutes a violation of fundamental rights.“.
See also: Anthropic: Chinese AI companies are trying to copy Claude
While the long-term consequences of this dispute are unclear, Anthropic appears to be winning over users, at least for now (as the app's downloads on the App Store indicate).
