OpenAI Reveals: Top Uses for ChatGPT According to Real Data
▼ Summary
– OpenAI’s Economic Research Team released a first-of-its-kind working paper detailing how people use ChatGPT over time and tasks.
– The paper provides unprecedented direct access to OpenAI’s internal user data, offering reliable usage statistics.
– ChatGPT has grown rapidly, reaching over 700 million weekly active users in early 2024, nearly 10% of the world’s adult population.
– OpenAI acknowledges potential slight inaccuracies in user counts due to double-counting logged-out or multi-account users.
– Despite most users not paying for premium tiers, curiosity and adoption of ChatGPT continue to show steep growth.
Understanding how people actually use large language models in their daily lives has become a central question for professionals and enthusiasts alike. A groundbreaking new study from OpenAI’s Economic Research Team, conducted in partnership with Harvard economist David Denning, offers the first direct look into real user behavior based on internal platform data. Unlike previous surveys that relied on self-reported usage, this research provides an unfiltered view into how millions of people are engaging with ChatGPT over time.
The findings, detailed in a comprehensive working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, reveal several key trends and surprises about the adoption and application of one of the world’s most influential AI tools.
One of the most striking takeaways is the sheer scale and speed of ChatGPT’s growth. While its popularity has been widely acknowledged, the data confirms an explosive upward trajectory. Weekly active users on consumer plans—including free and paid tiers—surpassed 100 million in early 2024, soared beyond 400 million shortly after, and now exceed 700 million. To put that in perspective, that represents nearly one in ten adults worldwide.
OpenAI acknowledges that these figures might be slightly inflated due to factors like duplicate accounts or users accessing the platform across multiple devices while logged out. Independent analyses also suggest that only a small fraction of these users currently pay for premium access. Even so, the overwhelming interest in experimenting with ChatGPT indicates that public curiosity is far from plateauing. The adoption curve remains steep, reflecting sustained and expanding engagement.
(Source: Ars Technica)
