OpenAI Lifts the Veil on the Secret Habits of ChatGPT Users

Since its spectacular launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has earned the status of a global benchmark in artificial intelligence. Nearly three years later, OpenAI’s chatbot has far surpassed the experimental stage. With more than 700 million weekly users, it now shapes global digital habits. A groundbreaking scientific study, relying for the first time on OpenAI’s internal data, dissects 2.6 billion daily messages and reveals surprising trends about the real use of ChatGPT, challenging preconceived ideas about the adoption of conversational AI.

Personal use surpasses professional use

The 64-page report, the result of a collaboration between OpenAI and Harvard economist David Deming, constitutes the first scientific analysis based on real usage data rather than declarative surveys. The results contradict several initial forecasts focused on professional productivity.

In June 2025, 72.2% of messages concerned personal tasks, compared to 53% a year earlier. This trend reversal is explained by the democratization of the tool beyond initial technological and professional circles. Usage distribution focuses on three main categories, notably: practical advice, information seeking, and writing assistance, which together total nearly 80% of conversations.

User profiles also show marked specifics. An over-representation of 18-25 year olds (46%), gender parity now reached (52.4% women, compared to 20% at launch), and an exponential growth in user numbers, rising from 100 million weekly users in early 2024 to over 700 million today.

This demographic evolution accompanies a transformation in usages that surpasses initial predictions. The data quantify for the first time the real nature of human-machine interactions at this scale. This reveals a gap between productivity-focused promises and a reality of primarily personal and creative usage.

Executives, new strategic AI users

While the majority of conversations take place in the personal sphere, a parallel dynamic is developing at the top of large companies. ChatGPT is becoming a strategic tool for executives who integrate it into their daily decision-making processes.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, recently detailed his five daily GPT-5 prompts used in Microsoft 365 Copilot including meeting summaries, action point extraction, and predictive discussion analysis. This systematization illustrates a transformation in management methods at the highest level.

This executive adoption is not isolated. By the end of 2023, 80% of Fortune 500 companies already had employees using ChatGPT. The NBER study shows that this pioneering adoption served as a springboard. Today, AI is no longer limited to technical or marketing teams, but permeates strategic decision-making processes.

The study confirms this professionalization, with adoption peaks correlated with major technical improvements. The launches of the o1-preview and o1-mini models in September 2024, then o3 and o4-mini in April 2025, generated increases of 15 to 25% in message volume per established user.

However, since June 2025, a plateau phenomenon has been observed: growth now comes only from new users, while usage among long-time registered users stagnates. This saturation suggests that ChatGPT is approaching its current limits to meet the needs of experienced users.

NBER data thus offers the first factual insight into the real use of artificial intelligence at large scale. They reveal mass adoption centered on daily life, but also strategic appropriation by economic elites.