Key Points
- Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads feature darkly comedic chatbot scenarios.
- Claude rose from No. 41 to No. 7 on the U.S. App Store after the ads.
- U.S. downloads hit an estimated 148,000 between Sunday and Tuesday.
- Download volume increased 32% compared with the prior three days.
- Daily average downloads rose to 49,200, up from the usual 37,400.
- The surge coincided with Anthropic’s release of the Opus 4.6 model.
- ChatGPT introduced ads for free users at the same time.
- Claude’s initial mobile launch in May 2024 saw modest reception.
- Global downloads grew 15% over the same period, though slower than U.S. growth.
- The campaign highlights Claude’s “no ads” positioning versus competitors.
Super Bowl Ads Spark Surge for Claude
Anthropic’s Super Bowl advertisements, which depict humorously bleak situations where people turn to chatbots only to be redirected to “cougar” dating sites and height‑boosting insoles, appear to be paying off. In the days following the broadcast, the company’s AI chatbot Claude climbed from No. 41 to No. 7 on the U.S. App Store, marking its highest rank ever.
Download Spike and Percentage Gains
According to market‑intelligence data, Claude’s U.S. downloads across iOS and Android totaled an estimated 148,000 from Sunday through Tuesday. That figure represents a 32% increase from the preceding three‑day window, when downloads were roughly 112,000. The daily average during the surge was 49,200 downloads, up 32% from the typical Sunday‑through‑Tuesday average of 37,400.
Factors Behind the Growth
The surge aligns with Anthropic’s rollout of its new Opus 4.6 model and the Super Bowl ad campaign, both of which emphasized the app’s “no ads” differentiator. At the same time, competitor ChatGPT introduced ads for free users, a move that Claude’s ads had highlighted as a contrast.
Claude’s Early Mobile Performance
Claude debuted on iOS in May 2024 to a fairly tepid reception. Its rival, ChatGPT, had reached the mobile market earlier and logged nearly half a million installs within its first five days. By comparison, Claude recorded 157,000 total global downloads in its first week and never rose above No. 55 on the U.S. App Store.
Global Download Trends
Outside the United States, Claude also saw gains. Worldwide downloads across the App Store and Google Play grew 15% from Sunday to Tuesday compared with the prior Thursday‑to‑Saturday period, though this increase was less than half of the U.S. growth rate.
Implications for Anthropic
The data suggest that the combination of high‑profile advertising and a fresh model release successfully captured user attention, pushing Claude’s app into the top‑10 tier of U.S. applications and improving its competitive standing against established players like ChatGPT.
Source: techcrunch.com