U.S. app uninstalls for ChatGPT’s mobile app saw a staggering 295% increase in just one day following the news of OpenAI’s partnership with the Department of Defense, now known as the Department of War under the Trump administration. In contrast, downloads for OpenAI competitor Anthropic’s Claude spiked by 37% on Friday and 51% on Saturday after the announcement that they would not be partnering with the defense department due to ethical concerns about AI usage.

Consumers’ reactions were clear in the data, with ChatGPT witnessing a decline in downloads and an increase in 1-star reviews, while Claude rose to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store. Third-party data providers affirmed these trends, with Appfigures reporting Claude surpassing ChatGPT in U.S. downloads and Similarweb noting a significant increase in Claude’s downloads over the past week. The consumer response highlights the growing importance of ethical considerations in the AI industry.