Claude Gains Users as Pentagon Dispute Boosts Appeal
Claude’s daily active users are on the rise, as are its modern app installs, following Anthropic’s recent discussions with the Department of War. After Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to allow the government to use its AI systems for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons, the AI model provider was designated as a supply-chain risk according to a statement from Anthropic.
However, Anthropic’s stance appears to have resonated with consumers. Data suggests a surge in favorability towards the model.
User Growth Surges
App intelligence provider Appfigures reports that U.S. Downloads of Claude’s mobile app continue to surpass those of ChatGPT. As of March 2, Claude recorded 149,000 daily downloads, compared to ChatGPT’s 124,000 as reported by Anthropic.
Beyond downloads, active user numbers also demonstrate growth. Similarweb data indicates Claude’s app on iOS and Android devices reached 11.3 million daily active users on March 2, a 183% increase from the beginning of the year (approximately 4 million) and up from 5 million at the start of February.
While Claude’s growth is significant, ChatGPT remains the market leader with 250.5 million daily active users as of March 2.
Web Traffic Increases
Similarweb also reports a 43% month-over-month increase in Claude’s web traffic in February and a 297.7% year-over-year increase. During the same period, ChatGPT’s web traffic experienced a 6.5% month-over-month decrease, while Gemini saw a smaller increase of 2.1%.
Anthropic Reports Record Sign-Ups
Anthropic has highlighted Claude’s progress, noting over 1 million daily sign-ups and the app holding the No. 1 position on the U.S. App Store, as well as ranking No. 1 in 15 other countries, including Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. The company also stated that Claude has broken its own daily signup record in every available country since early last week.
Conversely, ChatGPT app uninstalls have reportedly been increasing.
Anthropic stated it does not comment on third-party data, but confirmed that daily active users have more than tripled since the beginning of 2026, and paid subscribers have doubled.
Department of War Designation
On March 5, 2026, Anthropic received a letter from the Department of War designating it as a supply chain risk to America’s national security as detailed in a statement by Dario Amodei. Anthropic disputes this designation and intends to challenge it in court. The company clarified that the designation applies narrowly to the use of Claude within direct contracts with the Department of War, not to all uses by customers with such contracts.