OpenAI Says 70% of ChatGPT Use is Non-Work Related

New research shows a surge in the use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT for non-work purposes.

The research, released Wednesday (Sept. 16) as part of what is being called a first-of-its kind study, is the largest look to date at how people use the company’s flagship artificial intelligence (AI) offering.

“The findings show that consumer adoption has broadened beyond early-user groups, shrinking the gender gap in particular; that most conversations focus on everyday tasks like seeking information and practical guidance,” OpenAI wrote on its blog.

In addition, the study—a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper by OpenAI’s Economic Research team and Harvard economist David Deming—found that usage is evolving “in ways that create economic value through both personal and professional use,” the company said.

The research found a steady increase in work-related messages, but even faster growth in non-work-related messages, from 53% to more than 70% of all usage.

“We classify messages by conversation topic and find that ‘Practical Guidance,’ ‘Seeking Information,’ and ‘Writing’ are the three most common topics and collectively account for nearly 80% of all conversations,” the study said.

Writing was the top work-related task, the researchers added, saying this showcases chatbots’ “unique ability” to generate digital outputs compared to traditional search engines. Computer programming and self-expression each made up relatively small percentages of use.

“Overall, we find that ChatGPT provides economic value through decision support, which is especially important in knowledge-intensive jobs,” the researchers wrote.

The research also found a narrowing in ChatGPT’s gender gap, with 52% of users having “typically feminine” names in July of this year, up from 37% in January of 2024.

In addition, the study found “especially rapid growth” of ChatGPT adoption in low- and middle-income countries, OpenAI said. As of May of this year, adoption rates in the lowest income countries were more than four times that of rates in the highest income countries.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote Wednesday about earlier NBER research looking into the impact of AI on the workforce.

A recent PYMNTS Intelligence report showed how large U.S. companies are increasingly dipping their toes into agentic AI, which can autonomously take actions and make decisions independent of human oversight, such as paying a vendor.

However, the companies are keeping the software on a short leash, with human oversight of the processes the tech handles.

That’s in keeping with the NBER report, which noted: “At least in the near term, AI is more likely to ratchet up firms’ expectations of knowledge workers than it is to replace them.”