OpenAI Study: ChatGPT Use Skews To Everyday Tasks As Adoption Widens

OpenAI has published what it calls the largest analysis yet of consumer ChatGPT use, saying the chatbot now serves about 700 million weekly active users and that most activity centers on everyday tasks rather than coding or entertainment. The findings, released as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper co-authored with Harvard economist David Deming, draw on 1.5 million conversations processed through a privacy-preserving pipeline.

The study charts growth from ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch to July 2025, when weekly message volume reached roughly 18 billion, about 2.5–2.6 billion a day, on consumer plans. Enterprise and education usage was not included.

Adoption has broadened beyond early user groups. Among accounts with names classifiable by gender, the share associated with typically feminine names rose from 37% in January 2024 to 52% by July 2025. Usage has also expanded fastest in lower-income markets; by May 2025, adoption growth rates in the lowest-income countries were more than four times those in the richest.

Most consumer conversations focus on practical help. OpenAI classifies messages into “Asking,” “Doing,” and “Expressing”: Asking accounts for 49% of messages; Doing for 40% (including about one-third for work); and Expressing for 11%. Writing is the dominant work use case, while coding and self-expression remain niche.

Overall, about 70% of consumer usage is non-work and 30% is work-related, with both categories still growing, evidence, the authors say, that the tool is being woven into daily life as well as jobs. OpenAI argues much of the value comes from decision support that helps people make judgments and complete tasks, especially in knowledge-intensive roles.

OpenAI says researchers did not read user messages; instead, automated classifiers were used and evaluated within a privacy-preserving setup.

The tilt toward everyday, practical help, and faster uptake in lower- and middle-income countries, suggests accessible AI tools are moving from novelty to routine utility, from drafting letters and CVs to budgeting and lesson planning, areas with clear productivity gains for students, SMEs and creators.

Sources: OpenAI research post and NBER working paper “How People Use ChatGPT.”