OpenAI’s ChatGPT mobile app surpassed 18 million monthly active users (MAU) in South Korea last month, marking a significant surge in domestic AI adoption as Anthropic’s Claude also experienced rapid growth. According to data from Mobile Index released on the 8th, the ChatGPT app reached 18,762,276 monthly users.
This figure represents a 43.8% increase from the 13,048,025 users recorded during the same month a year ago. It also marks the first time the app has surpassed the 18 million user threshold since Mobile Index began tracking the data. The user count rose by approximately 770,000 from September’s total of 17,993,884.
ChatGPT app time spent grew faster than users
The time spent on the ChatGPT app grew at a rate that outpaced user growth. Total time spent reached approximately 50.98 million hours last month, a 113.9% increase from the 23.83 million hours recorded a year earlier. On an individual basis, the average monthly time per user rose 48.8% to about 163 minutes, up from 110 minutes last year.
ChatGPT currently holds a dominant position among the AI and artificial intelligence apps tracked by Mobile Index. Its share of users rose to approximately 91% last month, compared to about 84% a year ago, meaning roughly 9 out of 10 users of the tracked AI apps utilize ChatGPT. While ChatGPT ranked first in new installations with about 790,000, that number was 16.2% lower than the previous year.
Growth of Claude and declines in other AI apps
Anthropic’s Claude experienced rapid expansion, with its MAU reaching approximately 2.1 million last month. This is 15 times the 140,000 users reported during the same month a year ago. This growth allowed Claude to climb from No. 7 to No. 2 in AI app user rankings. Total time spent on Claude increased 22 times year-over-year to about 3.88 million hours, while the average monthly time per user rose from 75 minutes to 111 minutes. Claude also secured second place in new installations with about 490,000, which is 13 times the level from a year earlier.
Other applications saw a decrease in users. SK Telecom’s adot had an MAU of approximately 1.07 million, a 42.5% drop from the previous year. Perplexity also experienced a decline, falling 30.9% to about 570,000 users.
