Anthropic's Claude AI hits number 1 spot on App Store as users boycott OpenAI's new Pentagon deal

Anthropic's Claude has received strong support from users after OpenAI on 27 February signed a deal with the US Department of Defence (DoD) to deploy its technology on the Pentagon's classified network.

Soon after the deal, Anthropic's Claude received significant support on social media. By Saturday, 1 March, Claude overtook ChatGPT to claim the number one spot on Apple’s US App Store (free apps category).

OpenAI faced flak on social media after the Pentagon deal was finalised. Users on platforms like Reddit and X called for the cancellation of ChatGPT subscriptions in favour of Anthropic’s Claude.

American singer Katy Perry, for instance, posted on X with the caption ‘Done’, while the image showed her purchasing Anthropic's subscription with a heart in it.

Meanwhile, a user on Reddit, clearly not impressed by the OpenAI deal, wrote, "I think it's time to burn any bridges we had with ChatGPT, cancel your subscription, delete it too obviously. Also start leaving bad reviews on Play Store and App Store. And if you have to, use an open weights model! [sic]"

Some other users on the dedicated ChatGPT subreddit have called for shifting to Claude AI after the DoD deal. One such user wrote, "This was a calculated business decision to chase government money at the expense of everything they promised when they asked for your trust and your subscription. You can be done with them in 15 minutes. And you can make the last month hurt a little on your way out."

OpenAI inks deal with US govt

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed on X on 28 February that the company has signed a deal with the US government for the use of its models in classified work. Altman added that the US government has shown a “deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome.”

“Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The DoD agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement,” Altman wrote.

The statement by Altman came just hours after US President Donald Trump announced a ban on Anthropic for not cooperating with his administration on the use of its AI tools. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said he would be designating Anthropic as a supply chain risk under a law that is usually reserved for foreign companies like Huawei.

Anthropic, for its part, has said it would be challenging the supply chain risk designation in court. The company also said that its deal with the US government fell apart after it set two exceptions to the use of Claude: mass domestic surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons.