Anthropic’s Claude overtook ChatGPT and Gemini on the US App Store.
Defence-related controversy likely increased public interest in Claude.
Record users show trust and public opinion affect AI app popularity.
Anthropic’s Claude has climbed to the top of the ladder at Apple’s US App Store, overtaking OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. The change in rankings comes after days of heated debate over how artificial intelligence companies should work with the US Department of Defence. While app charts often move with product updates or marketing campaigns, this spike appears to be driven by public reaction. The conflict and the timing of the rise have turned a routine app ranking into a larger conversation about trust and values in the fast-growing AI market.
Claude rose steadily through February before jumping to the number one spot over the weekend. It was first spotted by CNBC. Just weeks ago, the AI chatbot was ranked outside the top 100 free apps in the United States. However, now the app sits ahead of its rival ChatGPT, which had held the leading position for most of the month, and ahead of Google’s Gemini, which remains among the top five.
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The surge in the ranking followed the public disagreements between Anthropic and the US officials. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said the company does not want its AI models used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. After negotiations with the Pentagon stalled, President Donald Trump criticised the company in a social media post and directed federal agencies to stop using its products. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also moved to restrict its use within defence supply chains.
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Sam Altman has also announced that OpenAI had reached its own agreement with the defence department at the same time. Altman framed the deal as a strategic move to prevent the government from blacklisting the entire AI industry. He said, ‘I think the current path things are on is dangerous for Anthropic, healthy competition, and the US. We moved quickly to de-escalate. We negotiated to make sure similar terms would be offered to all other AI labs.’
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Anthropic says daily sign-ups have hit record levels this week, with free users up sharply since January and paid subscriptions more than doubling this year. The rapid change suggests that public opinion can quickly reshape the AI market. Performance still matters, but so does trust. As competition grows, user choice may depend not only on features but also on how companies handle difficult questions about power and responsibility.
