ChatGPT Usage Drops For First Time As AI Buzz Fades

An indication that the hype surrounding ChatGPT, the viral chatbot developed by OpenAI, may have reached a peak is new data from analytics firm Similarweb. The data reveals monthly traffic to the chatbot site experienced the first-ever decline in June. 

There's been a lot of buzz around artificial intelligence since ChatGPT was released seven months ago. About a month and a half before the chatbot was released to the public, the stock market bottomed in a bear market around Oct. 12. When the AI theme was embraced, stocks have since entered a bull market. 

But against the backdrop of challenging macroeconomic headwinds and a hawkish Federal Reserve, AI stocks like Nvidia have been on a tear. 

However, waning interest in AI chatbots could be the pin that pricks the AI bubble: New Similarweb data shows ChatGPT's website traffic slid 9.7% from May to June. The decline in traffic was the worst in the US, falling 10.3% over the month. As for the unique worldwide visitors, ChatGPT's website slid by 5.7%, and the time spent on the site was down 8.5%. 

"In June, traffic and engagement for ChatGPT finally began to retreat after months of dizzying growth," Similarweb pointed out. This came after the chatbot added 100 million users in the first few months of operation. 

Visitor engagement with ChatGPT is also sliding. Similarweb said, "We don't yet have this metric for June, but it was already down 8.5% in May." 

The drop in ChatGPT interest is a warning sign that the "novelty has worn off for AI chat," Similarweb said. It added, "Chatbots will have to prove their worth, rather than taking it for granted, from here on out." 

And this may all suggest peak hype in the AI space... 

Seemingly confirming this, we note that Goldman's S&T desk points out that they are starting to see some signs of rotation from AI stocks to EV.

Also notice how news stories about "ChatGPT" have been sliding since early May.

We have cited Jim Bianco, Bianco Research President, and others, who have explained AI stocks are in a classic bubble. Investors need to understand that sliding interest in ChatGPT could be a catalyst for the AI bubble to begin deflating. 

"At the moment, AI's risks are as massive as its potential. We won't know until ten years later whether AI's impact is more akin to the internet or the Google Glass," Epoch Times' Fan Yu noted this week.