1 in 4 ChatGPT Conversations Now Seek Information
▼ Summary
– “Seeking Information” messages now account for 24% of ChatGPT conversations, up from 14% a year earlier, making it a close substitute for web search.
– The three dominant usage topics are Practical Guidance (29%), Seeking Information (24%), and Writing (24%), which together represent about 77% of all conversations.
– Non-work usage of ChatGPT rose significantly from 53% in June 2024 to 73% in June 2025, indicating a shift toward personal rather than professional use.
– Gender gaps in usage have narrowed, with users having typically feminine names rising from 37% to 52% between January 2024 and July 2025.
– ChatGPT reached over 700 million weekly active users by July, sending roughly 2.5 billion messages per day, showing rapid global adoption.
A significant shift in how people interact with artificial intelligence is underway, with new data revealing that one in four conversations with ChatGPT now involves seeking information. This marks a notable increase from just 14% a year ago, according to a recent working paper from OpenAI and Harvard. The study, which analyzed a representative sample of 1.1 million conversations, highlights a clear trend toward using conversational AI as a primary tool for finding answers.
The research, conducted using privacy-preserving methods that ensured no human read individual messages, focused exclusively on consumer usage of ChatGPT. By July, the platform had grown to serve over 700 million weekly active users, processing roughly 2.5 billion messages daily. Three main categories dominate user interactions: Practical Guidance, Seeking Information, and Writing, which together make up about 77% of all usage. While Practical Guidance held steady at 29%, Writing saw a decline from 36% to 24%, making room for the surge in information-seeking behavior.
The authors of the study suggest that Seeking Information via ChatGPT is becoming a close substitute for traditional web search. This shift is further clarified by breaking down user intent into three types: Asking, Doing, and Expressing. Nearly half of all messages (49%) fall into the Asking category, which the study found to be consistently rated higher in quality based on automated classifiers and user feedback. Doing accounted for 40%, while Expressing made up the remaining 11%.
Another striking finding is the rise in personal use of the tool. Non-work usage jumped from 53% to 73% over the past year, indicating that ChatGPT is increasingly part of daily life outside professional settings. At work, Writing remains the top use case, representing about 40% of work-related messages. Education also plays a significant role, with 10% of all messages involving tutoring or teaching. In contrast, only 4.2% of interactions focus on computer programming, and a mere 1.9% touch on relationships or personal reflection.
Global adoption of ChatGPT has been rapid and widespread. Early gender gaps have largely closed, with the share of users with typically feminine names rising from 37% to 52% over an 18-month period. Perhaps more notably, growth in the lowest-income countries has outpaced that in the highest-income nations by a factor of more than four.
These trends carry important implications. With a quarter of all conversations dedicated to information-seeking, many queries that might once have gone to search engines are now directed toward conversational AI. Content creators and marketers may want to respond by developing material that answers questions directly while incorporating depth and expertise that AI cannot easily replicate. The prominence of writing and editing in professional settings also suggests that teams are increasingly integrating AI into their content workflows.
Looking forward, it’s clear that ChatGPT is evolving into a major destination for online information. Beyond the clear tilt toward Seeking Information, the fact that 70% of use is personal underscores broad changes in consumer behavior. As adoption continues to grow, staying attuned to how audiences use these tools will be essential for adapting content strategies effectively.
(Source: Search Engine Journal)
