A quick lookup on Google Trends shows Claude is among the least popular AI consumer products.
From my own experience, most people outside of the tech world haven’t even heard of Claude. This is a bit surprising because, in many cases, Claude’s model is as good as ChatGPT or even better. So why didn’t it catch on?
ChatGPT is a better consumer product
ChatGPT has more features that serve everyday needs: voice mode, image generation, multimodal, custom GPTs — features that Claude lacks.
When it comes to user experience on Mac, ChatGPT is much better, whereas using the Claude app is a pain. Here’s what John Gruber had to say:
But even their respective Mac apps are a stark contrast. The Claude app is a lazy Electron port. Right off the bat, the email field on the login screen doesn’t support autofill. Once you’re logged in, you don’t get any standard MacOS features. And of course because it’s Electron it’s bloated architecturally and uses a lot of memory. If you really want to use Claude as an “app” on your Mac you’d be better off saving a web app with Safari (File → Add to Dock…) than using this.
ChatGPT’s native Mac app, on the other hand, is a truly native Mac app. It looks like a Mac app and feels like a Mac app because it really is a Mac app. I’ve liked it ever since it launched back in May, and it keeps getting better. And I keep using it more and more as my go-to resource for answering questions.
— Daring Fireball: Anthropic’s Claude AI Chatbot Now Has a Mac App, But It’s an Electron Turd
This article was from October 2024, so the app may have improved since then. But I wouldn’t bother to check, because I had already subscribed to ChatGPT Plus and have been using its Mac app ever since.
On top of that, Claude has tight rate limits. Free users are often restricted to using the less powerful model, which feels restrictive compared to ChatGPT’s much more generous limits. Plus, you have to create an account just to try Claude, which makes it harder for new users to get on board.
The ChatGPT brand
ChatGPT was the first truly capable AI chatbot to reach a broad audience. It was a “first iPhone moment” for AI chat, and OpenAI has built on that momentum ever since.
One notable example is OpenAI’s purchasing the chat.com domain, which worths more than $10M.
Or, they even have a dedicated hotline for ChatGPT: 1-800-CHATGPT.
Even if people knew about Claude, they had no reason to switch unless it was 10 times better (and it isn’t). Besides, most people don’t bother comparing these models since the differences can be subtle and take effort to understand. They just go with the brand they recognize.
However, is winning the consumer market a priority for Anthropic?
Let’s take a look at these billboards:
These ads wouldn’t mean much to people unfamiliar with Claude. It seems like they’re targeting those who already know about their products rather than attracting new users.
Another example is Anthropic doesn’t have separate social media accounts for Claude (unlike OpenAI).
On the other hand, OpenAI is more serious about reaching consumers. ChatGPT makes it easy to share public links to chats, which helps it spread through word of mouth. It also has a smooth onboarding flow for new users, while Claude just shows a login screen. ChatGPT’s social media presence is friendly and relatable (its Twitter bio even says “friendly robot”). Plus, OpenAI appears to be exploring advertising, which could help keep ChatGPT free and reach more people.
It seems that Anthropic isn’t as focused on winning over everyday users as OpenAI is. Maybe it’s a deliberate choice, or maybe it’s a missed opportunity. I don’t know.