ChatGPT in 2026: Claude from Anthropic Disrupts the Fallen Leader

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Key Takeaways

1In 2026, ChatGPT sees its usage share drop from 88.6% to 67.8%, while Claude from Anthropic rises to 51.2%.

2Digital professionals are diversifying their AI tools, with only 18.6% using ChatGPT exclusively.

3OpenAI maintains its dominant position, but competitors like Anthropic and Google are quickly closing the gap.

💡Why it matters — The fragmentation of the conversational AI market challenges OpenAI's supremacy, reshuffling the cards among major players.

ChatGPT is No Longer the Go-To Choice

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has intensified in the professional sector, but the tool that significantly contributed to its popularization, ChatGPT, is seeing its influence wane. After dominating the market for two years, ChatGPT is losing ground to its competitors. This is revealed by the third survey conducted by the consulting and training firm IA SocIAty, which interviewed 807 professionals.

In 2026, ChatGPT remains the most used AI tool, but its usage has significantly declined. Among professionals using AI, 67.8% still turn to ChatGPT, down from 88.6% the previous year, marking a substantial drop of nearly 21 points.

Claude, the tool developed by Anthropic, is directly benefiting from this shift. In one year, its usage has surged from 18.3% to 51.2%, claiming the second spot and recording the highest growth of the year.

In various professions, the decline of ChatGPT is also noticeable, even among those who used it the most in 2025. Although they remain at the top in 2026, their use of ChatGPT is decreasing:

Acquisition (SEO/SEA): 84% (-10 points from 2025)
Social media: 75% (-15 points)
Communication: 70.1% (-19 points)
Writing: 65.4% (-20 points)
Project management: 61.5% (-25 points)

Claude has gained 33 points in one year, while ChatGPT has lost 21.

Its Users Are More Engaged, but Expect Less

Despite the decline in its reach, ChatGPT manages to retain its remaining users, who are deepening their engagement. In 2026, 45% of users opted for a paid subscription, compared to 39.4% the previous year.

The frequency of ChatGPT usage remains stable, with 61.7% of users accessing it daily and 30.5% weekly. The uses are diverse:

Text correction or reformulation: 64.4%
Content production: 59.8%
Idea generation: 59.4%
Information synthesis: 57.3%
Web research: 43.7%
Image generation: 37.7%
Subject expertise (Deep Research): 32.2%
Text translation: 32.2%
PDF document analysis: 28.7%
Data ranking and analysis: 23.0%

Nearly half of ChatGPT users have adopted a paid version.

However, the initial enthusiasm is fading. While 51.1% of users find performance stable, 32.4% see it improving, and 16.5% perceive a decline. The perceived benefits have also evolved: productivity gains have decreased by nearly 10 points (67.8%), and creativity has dropped by more than 13 points (40.4%). On the other hand, 61.9% of users believe the tool improves the quality of their work. Here are the five main advantages cited:

Increased productivity (67.8%)
Improved work quality (61.9%)
Knowledge development (53.1%)
Focus on higher value-added tasks (43.9%)
Stimulation of creativity (40.4%)

With the novelty effect wearing off, ChatGPT has reached a plateau: it does not disappoint, but it no longer impresses as much, especially in terms of creativity.

The Use of Multiple Tools Becomes the Norm

In 2026, the use of ChatGPT occurs within a context of tool diversification. Only 18.6% of users stick exclusively to ChatGPT. The others are divided into two groups:

63.8% combine ChatGPT with other AI assistants
17.6% have stopped using ChatGPT, replacing it with another tool

In both cases, Claude stands out significantly. Among those who have replaced ChatGPT, 69.6% chose Claude, far ahead of Google Gemini (35.9%). Those who complement ChatGPT with other tools also place Claude at the top with 64%, followed by Gemini (54.1%) and Perplexity (23.7%). Thus, ChatGPT is not losing its users, but its exclusivity, once very pronounced, is eroding.

The market for conversational assistants is fragmenting.

Beyond AI Assistants, OpenAI's Lead is Shrinking on All Fronts

The decline of ChatGPT is part of a broader market rebalancing. By aggregating all tools from the same publisher, whether text, code, image, or video, OpenAI remains at the top with a reach of 70.9% of respondents and a presence across all four categories of tools. However, its competitors are closing in.

Two publishers are vying for second place, neck and neck. Anthropic reaches 54% with only two tools, Claude and Claude Code, the latter being used by nearly 30% of the entire panel. Google follows with 52.3% (or 55% including NotebookLM). The publisher is the most present across all uses, leading in video with Veo and second in image with Nano Banana.

Strategies diverge: Google bets on ubiquity, being present everywhere without dominating anywhere, while Anthropic advances with few but effective tools tailored for professional use. OpenAI is therefore no longer only challenged in the chatbot arena but across all its applications. Regarding video, the publisher has taken a step back: it closed Sora, its video generator, in March 2026, due to lack of profitability against massive infrastructure costs.

Methodology

The survey was conducted online by BDM from April 24 to May 29, 2026, among 807 digital professionals working in various fields such as communication, marketing, education, project management, development, general management, design, social media, writing, commerce, and SEO/SEA acquisition.