Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots. OpenAI has published the first large-scale analysis of how people actually use ChatGPT, offering a rare glimpse into behaviour across its 700 million-strong user base.
The research, carried out with Harvard economist David Denning and released as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, draws on internal data covering 2.6 billion daily Chat-GPT messages. Unlike earlier survey-based studies, the findings provide a direct account of how the world’s most widely used large language model is deployed in practice.
The report shows ChatGPT continues to expand rapidly, with weekly active users surpassing 700 million in 2025, almost 10% of the world’s adult population. Message volumes have soared from 451 million per day in June 2024 to 2.6 billion a year later.
However, OpenAI notes that engagement among long-term users has levelled off, with most of the growth now coming from new sign-ups. Per-user activity plateaued after model launches in late 2024 and early 2025, suggesting there may be a ceiling on how much value established users derive from the tool on a daily basis.
The study highlights striking demographic shifts. Almost half (46%) of users who shared their age are between 18 and 25, pointing to particularly strong adoption among younger cohorts. Gender distribution has also changed: while early usage was heavily male-dominated, women now make up a slight majority (52.4%).
Despite industry focus on productivity, OpenAI found that the majority of ChatGPT use is personal rather than professional. Non-work prompts rose from 53% of all activity in mid-2024 to more than 72% a year later.
It is unclear how many of these personal Chat-GPT users are using the free version as opposed to paying a monthly subscription for greater functionality.
For workplace use, writing remains the leading task: 42% of work-related prompts involve help drafting or editing text. Other key professional uses include information retrieval (13.5%) and decision support (14.9%), where employees consult the model as a kind of digital advisor.
Writing assistance is the single largest category across all use cases, representing 28% of conversations overall. Much of this involves editing or critiquing text rather than generating new material, with translation and personal correspondence also featuring strongly.
Meanwhile, “seeking information” has grown steadily, rising from 14% of conversations in June 2024 to nearly a quarter (24.4%) by mid-2025. That shift positions ChatGPT as a growing rival to traditional search engines, albeit one still prone to factual errors.

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