ChatGPT Hits 700M Weekly Users, OpenAI Reports
▼ Summary
– ChatGPT is on track to reach 700 million weekly active users, up from 500 million in March and four times higher than last year.
– Direct comparisons to traditional search engines like Google are difficult due to differing metrics, but Google processed 200 million daily searches six years after launch.
– ChatGPT’s rapid growth stands out as it entered a mature digital market, unlike early search engines that grew during limited internet access.
– AI-powered tools now account for 5.6% of U.S. desktop searches, with early adopters shifting 40% of their visits to AI search tools.
– OpenAI’s ChatGPT is rivaling mainstream consumer products, prompting marketers to adapt strategies for AI optimization alongside traditional SEO.
ChatGPT continues its meteoric rise, with OpenAI announcing the AI assistant now serves nearly 700 million users each week – a staggering 40% increase since March and four times its user base from last year. The explosive growth underscores how rapidly conversational AI has become embedded in daily digital habits across the globe.
Nick Turley, OpenAI’s VP leading ChatGPT development, revealed the milestone on social media, noting how teams and individuals increasingly rely on the tool for learning, problem-solving, and creative tasks. The platform’s utility keeps expanding, driving consistent adoption despite entering a crowded tech landscape.
Comparing ChatGPT’s trajectory to traditional search engines reveals just how unprecedented this expansion is. While Google took years to reach hundreds of millions of daily searches, ChatGPT achieved similar scale in months rather than decades. Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing Chat, by contrast, reported 100 million daily users in 2023, still far below OpenAI’s latest figures.
What makes ChatGPT’s growth particularly remarkable is its ability to thrive in a mature digital ecosystem. Unlike early search engines that grew alongside internet adoption, OpenAI’s tool had to carve out space in an already crowded market. Yet its weekly active user metric suggests deep engagement, avoiding the volatility often seen with daily usage spikes.
This shift isn’t just about numbers, it signals a fundamental change in how people seek information. Recent data shows AI-powered search tools now account for 5.6% of U.S. desktop searches, more than doubling their share in just a year. Among early adopters, nearly 40% of browsing now starts with AI assistants, while traditional search engine usage has dropped significantly.
For businesses and marketers, these trends demand a strategic pivot. As AI becomes a primary gateway for queries, optimizing for conversational platforms will be just as critical as traditional SEO. With ChatGPT approaching the scale of mainstream tech giants, its influence on digital behavior is undeniable, and still accelerating.
(Source: Search Engine Journal)
