The ChatGPT mobile app, developed by OpenAI, is experiencing a significant slowdown. According to an analysis by app data firm Apptopia, growth in new downloads stalled as early as April 2025. In October 2025, a decline of 8.1% compared with the previous month is expected, meaning that the app has peaked and new users are no longer arriving in the same numbers as before. Overall, downloads are still in the millions per day, but percentage growth is declining, suggesting that the initial enthusiasm has faded.
The situation is even worse in Europe. In its report dated October 15, 2025, the Deutsche Bank Research Institute states that spending on ChatGPT subscriptions has stagnated since May 2025. Europeans spend more on ChatGPT than on Disney Plus, but growth stopped after a sharp increase in early 2023. If the pace had continued, subscriptions could have surpassed Spotify in mid-2027 and Netflix in early 2028, but the last four months show a flat curve in major European markets.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman boasted of 800 million weekly active users, but only 5% of them pay for the Plus version. That means approximately 40 million paying users who generate most of the revenue—around 70% of the company’s annual revenue. The free version attracts crowds but does not make money, forcing OpenAI to look for new avenues.
Decline in daily usage
Not only downloads but also daily activity is declining. In the US, which accounts for 15 to 19% of users, the average time spent in the app has decreased by 22.5% since July 2025. The number of sessions per daily active user fell by 20.7%. Apptopia explains this by saying that the experimentation phase is over—people now open the app only occasionally when they need it, rather than using it every day as they did at first.
Globally, the number of daily active users has stabilized and begun to decline slightly over the past month. This is not just about efficiency: if it were only a matter of faster queries, the number of sessions would remain the same, but those are falling as well. Competitors such as Google Gemini are attracting users looking for alternatives, and changes to the GPT-5 model in August 2025 led to complaints that the chatbot is less friendly and less reliable than GPT-4o.
Nevertheless, the absolute figures remain high: in August 2025, the ChatGPT website received more than 5.85 billion visits per month, double the figure from the previous year. Growth is now stronger in poorer countries, while developed markets such as the US and Europe have reached saturation.
OpenAI’s new strategies
OpenAI is trying to turn the situation around in various ways. The company plans to invest more than $1 trillion (approximately CZK 21 trillion at an exchange rate of CZK 21 per dollar) in infrastructure, including agreements with Nvidia and AMD for 26 gigawatts of computing capacity, almost as much electricity as the entire state of New York consumes at peak times.
New initiatives include exploring online advertising, monetizing the Sora 2 video generator, and developing a new personal device with former Apple designer Jony Ive. The decision to allow "mature" content for adults with age verification is controversial—this means erotic content, which Sam Altman previously prohibited but now sees as a way to make the tool more useful.
The company also plans to manufacture its own artificial intelligence chips to eliminate its dependence on Nvidia and AMD. This could reduce costs but requires enormous investment right now, when its main product is weakening. OpenAI is focusing on enterprise customers and partnerships because profitability is not a priority, as Sam Altman has said.
Impact of competition
Competition is growing: Google Gemini shot to the top of the rankings in September 2025 thanks to the Nano Banana model, which also affected ChatGPT. Apptopia notes that the decline began before Gemini’s rise, so it is more likely due to overall fatigue with the novelty. OpenAI must invest in marketing and new features to retain its core users.
Spending $20 (CZK 420) per month on a Plus subscription is crucial, but with 95% of users on the free version, the company must find a way to convert them into paying customers. If it fails, investors may lose confidence in the entire generative artificial intelligence sector, which promised a revolution but is now struggling with hallucinations and errors.
Sources: techcrunch.com and futurism.com
