Claude AI Model Sees Rapid Rise in Popularity
According to data from Indagari, DataCamp, and Sensor Tower, Anthropic's Claude AI model has experienced a significant surge in popularity, coinciding with the U.S. government's ban on exporting the Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models. Indagari, which analyzes billions of anonymized transactions from roughly 28 million U.S. consumers, reported steady monthly growth in both Claude's paid user base and company revenue. The analysis covers weekly payments from 2025 through May 10, 2026, including subscriptions and API token purchases.
This growth continued even after a notable spike in interest during March, when Anthropic refused to allow the Trump administration to use its models for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Data from the educational platform DataCamp, which serves around 20 million users, shows that Claude has become the most searched term on the site, overtaking the keyword "AI."
Courses on Claude See Explosive Demand
For self-directed learners, demand for courses focused on Claude is three times higher than for those centered on ChatGPT, with interest in such courses jumping 18-fold over the last 30 days.
Despite ChatGPT remaining the most popular consumer AI service, Claude is rapidly gaining ground across all platforms, though it still trails in overall audience size. ChatGPT's growth rate has moderated due to its massive existing user base, but Claude is narrowing the gap in consumer revenue.
In early June, the U.S. government prohibited Anthropic from offering its cybersecurity-focused Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models to users outside the United States, prompting the company to temporarily withdraw these models from the market. Nevertheless, data indicates that Anthropic continues to expand both its consumer and corporate user numbers.
Claude's rising popularity amid the export ban on Mythos 5 and Fable 5 highlights a shift in consumer demand for AI technologies, especially under regulatory constraints. This trend suggests that users are actively seeking alternatives that better align with their priorities, and Claude may emerge as a key player in the AI market.
At the same time, the export restrictions could spur competitors to accelerate the development of new solutions, potentially complicating the landscape further for Anthropic and similar companies.
As Claude AI continues to rise in popularity, it's worth noting that ChatGPT's market share has fallen below 50% for the first time. This shift highlights the changing dynamics in the AI assistant landscape, where new contenders like Claude are rapidly gaining traction among users seeking innovative solutions.