The monthly active users (MAU) of OpenAI's generative artificial intelligence (AI) service, "ChatGPT," have approached 18 million in South Korea. Following the release of the next-generation model "GPT Astra," the user share of AI apps also surpassed 90% for the first time.
According to mobile analytics firm Wisesight's Mobile Index on the 6th, ChatGPT's domestic MAU in September was recorded at 17,993,884. This represents an increase of 894,832 (5.2%) from 17,099,052 in the previous month. With user numbers rising by approximately 900,000 in a single month, the service is on the verge of breaking the 18th million mark.
ChatGPT's share of AI app users rose to 90.27% in September, up 0.61 percentage points from 89.66% in the previous month. This marks the first time the market share has exceeded 90%.
Inflow of new users has also increased again. ChatGPT's new installations in September totaled 767,530, marking a shift to an upward trend after three consecutive months of decline. It is estimated that interest in the recently released GPT Astra influenced this change.
By user demographic, those in their 40s numbered 4,068,476, making up the largest group, followed by those in their 30s with 3,994,307. Combined, users in their 30s and 40s account for 8,062,783, or approximately 44.8% of the total. By gender, female users numbered 10,406,860, comprising 57.8% of the total.
The gap with competing services remains significant. Anthropic's "Claude," ranked second, recorded an MAU of 1,708,413 in September, a 14.0% increase from the previous month. Its market share rose from 7.86% to 8.57%, but ChatGPT's MAU is more than 10 times that of Claude. Third place was held by SK Telecom's domestic service "Aidoc," which recorded an MAU of 1,199,582. This was followed by Perplexity with 594,599 and xAI's Grok with 521,891.
As ChatGPT's domestic influence grows, attention is turning to whether the government's national AI service, "Everyone's AI," will bring changes to the market landscape. "Everyone's AI," in which SK Telecom, KT, and Kakao participate, is a service designed to support all citizens in easily utilizing AI. It is scheduled for official release in December following a beta service phase.
The government plans to develop "Everyone's AI" into an execution-type AI agent capable of performing actual tasks such as reservations and payments, going beyond simple question-and-answer interactions. However, with ChatGPT's domestic AI app user share already exceeding 90% ahead of the launch, it remains to be seen whether "Everyone's AI" can establish itself as a new option in a market solidly centered around ChatGPT.
in TECH
