ChatGPT's Weekly Active Users Approach 1 Billion, but 84% Haven't Tried AI Yet

The article discusses the rapid growth of ChatGPT's weekly active users, which are expected to reach nearly 1 billion by 2026. However, this still represents only 12.5% of the global population, indicating that the majority (84%) have not yet experienced conversing with AI.

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The article presents a graph showing the exponential growth of ChatGPT's weekly active users. In just over two years, the user base is expected to grow nearly tenfold, from 100 million in November 2023 to nearly 1 billion by February 2026. This growth curve is compared to the adoption timelines of other popular platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which took significantly longer to reach 1 billion users. The article explains that the initial growth was driven by early adopters, such as programmers and content creators, but the curve took off in the second half of 2024 after OpenAI made key improvements, including releasing GPT-4 for free and enhancing the mobile experience. This lowered the barrier to entry, allowing the general public to start using ChatGPT. The article notes that the current 1 billion weekly active users represent only 12.5% of the global population, meaning that 84% of people have not yet had their first conversation with an AI assistant like ChatGPT. This suggests that the explosive growth witnessed so far may just be the beginning of widespread AI adoption.