Claude became the most popular app on the US App Store, and here's why

Why Claude AI Became Popular

Claude AI attracted attention not only as a powerful AI model but also as a product at the center of major technological and political debates in 2026.

After Anthropic refused to provide full access to the model for the U.S. Department of Defense, interest in Claude grew—especially among those who value ethics and safety. Meanwhile, OpenAI agreed to collaborate with the Pentagon, including the use of ChatGPT in closed defense networks.

This difference in approaches made Claude popular: in the U.S., it topped the free apps chart in the App Store amid criticism of OpenAI.

What is Claude AI

Claude is a large language model designed for handling long contexts and analytical tasks. It can process large documents, support complex conversations, write and edit texts, explain technical solutions, and assist with programming.

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei—former employees of OpenAI. The company raised billions of dollars in investments from major tech players and focused on developing “constitutional AI”—an approach where the model’s behavior is initially constrained by a set of safety principles.

Claude is available via a web interface and an API for businesses. There is a free tier with limitations and paid plans for professional use.

Advantages and Limitations

Claude’s strength lies in its ability to handle large volumes of text. The model can analyze lengthy reports, legal documents, and research papers without losing context. This makes it highly sought after in corporate environments.

Anthropic also states that user data is not used to train models without permission, and enterprise clients are offered separate data storage terms.

However, the service is entirely cloud-based—if users prefer not to send their data to external servers, this should be taken into account. Advanced features are available in paid versions.

Who Uses Claude

Claude is actively adopted by technology companies, legal teams, research centers, and media outlets. It is used for preparing analytical materials, structuring large datasets, generating code, and automating internal processes.

For individual users, it serves as a versatile intelligent assistant—from drafting business correspondence to explaining complex topics.

Claude AI holds a special place in the generative AI market. It is discussed not only as a technological product but also as an example of how a company’s stance on military collaboration can influence audience trust.

In an environment where major industry players are expanding their engagement with government entities, Anthropic’s approach has become a notable point of differentiation—and one of the factors driving increased interest in Claude.

Claude AI is available not only for free but also through paid subscriptions that expand functionality and increase usage limits. The basic Pro subscription costs from $20 per month with monthly billing or around $17 per month with annual billing. The more advanced Max plan starts at approximately $100 per month and can reach up to $200 per month for users with high task volumes.