Key Highlights –
- OpenAI’s new study shows who makes the most out of ChatGPT, and how so.
- The research also highlights increase in adoption rates of the AI tool and its economic impact.
- Additionally, AI giant shares how most conversations are focused on everyday tasks such as seeking information and practical guidance.
An OpenAI study reveals some of the most burning questions regarding its prodigy AI chatbot- ChatGPT, users who use it most, and how they proceed with using the tool.
According to the 62-page research paper, some of the most common uses for the ChatGPT are categorized as “Practical Guidance,” “Seeking Information,” and “Writing,” with editing existing text being more frequent than generating new content from scratch. Here’s a quick rundown of who’s using ChatGPT and how are they going about it in better detail.
How the World Is Really Using ChatGPT, According to OpenAI
The AI giant revealed that as of mid-2025, ChatGPT’s early gender gaps had “narrowed dramatically.” In the beginning of the year before, i.e. January 2024, based on their names, users could be classified as either masculine or feminine and that 37% of them had typically feminine names. This percentage had risen upto 52% which is more than half by July this year, hinting that more women were actively using the AI chatbot.
Another interesting detail shared by OpenAI in its blog is that ChatGPT in it’s aim to become more accessible, had witnessed rapid adoption and growth in low- and middle-income countries. Last month, a special subscription plan – ChatGPT Go was released for Indian market at Rs 399 ($ 4.53).
Using such strategies, ChatGPT owner added another observation that as of May 2025 the adoption growth rates in the lower income countries were over four times more than those in the higher income countries.
What Are the ‘Use Cases’ of ChatGPT?
The study, a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, analyzed a random sample of 1.5 million conversations with ChatGPT between May 2024 and June 2025. It found that non-work-related messages grew even faster than work-related ones, now accounting for over 70% of all usage. This stands in contrast to earlier perceptions of ChatGPT as primarily a “professional productivity tool.”
GPT Use is categorized into:
— Ben Bajarin (@BenBajarin) September 15, 2025
• “Asking” (~49% of messages) — seeking advice, info, guidance. OpenAI
• “Doing” (~40%) — drafting text, planning, programming etc; about one‑third of this is work‑related. OpenAI
• “Expressing” (~11%) — reflection, play, exploration, etc. https://t.co/p6TbIWlCoe
The research also classified nearly 80% of all conversations into three main categories which were – “Practical Guidance,” “Seeking Information,” and “Writing.” Under ‘Practical Guidance’, topics included activities like tutoring, creative ideation, and how-to advice, etc are the most common use cases. The ‘Seeking Information’ was a close runner up, suggesting that many users are treating ChatGPT as a substitute for traditional search engines.
Within the “Writing” category, the study uncovered a surprising finding i.e. about two-thirds of writing-related messages asked ChatGPT to modify existing text (e.g., editing, critiquing, or translating) rather than generating entirely new content from scratch, highlighting that OpenAI’s prodigy AI’s role is not limited to content creator but can be used as a powerful editor and assistant. Similarly, programming, a use case that has received significant media attention, made up only 4.2% of the sampled chats.
The AI startup has been actively sharing its data and research to be ‘transparent.’ This move could come after ChatGPT faced several allegations of being a tool in aid of deaths, including the high-profile suicide case of a 16 year old California teen, among other reports.
In other recent news, OpenAI has been in the news for its rather ‘evolving‘ partnership with Microsoft. The relationship which we covered in a separate report, is moving towards a restructure, with both companies seeking new alliances such as OpenAI’s partnership with Oracle and Microsoft’s that with Anthropic.
