ChatGPT usage trends indicate shift from professional to personal use

OpenAI has released its most comprehensive study yet on how consumers use ChatGPT, offering new insights into the evolving role of AI in everyday life. The working paper, authored in partnership with Harvard economist David Deming and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), analysed 1.5 million conversations between May 2024 and July 2025.

The study shows that 24% of ChatGPT conversations now revolve around information-seeking—up by 10% from a year earlier. Overall, 77% of all usage falls into three categories: seeking guidance, asking for information, and writing-related tasks. With more than 700 million weekly users globally, ChatGPT has become one of the world’s most widely adopted consumer AI tools in just three years.

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Interestingly, only 30% of ChatGPT use is work-related, with personal conversations growing faster. Non-work usage rose from 53% to 70% of all messages over the past year, highlighting how the chatbot has become a trusted advisor for decisions beyond professional tasks. Younger and highly educated users dominate work-related use, while adoption is also rising sharply in low- and middle-income countries—four times faster than in wealthier economies.

Another significant finding is the narrowing gender gap. By July 2025, 52% of users had names classified as feminine, up from 37% in early 2024, signaling more balanced adoption across demographics.

The study also notes a decline in coding-related queries dropping from 12% to 5%, as developers increasingly turn to APIs and agentic coding tools like Codex. Meanwhile, viral social trends continue to influence usage, as seen with a surge in AI-generated images earlier this year.

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“ChatGPT is not only driving productivity in knowledge-intensive jobs but also delivering personal value that traditional economic metrics struggle to capture,” OpenAI noted.

With usage deepening over time and new cases emerging, the findings underscore ChatGPT’s growing role as both a productivity driver and a personal companion in the AI age.