OpenAI released an in-depth research paper detailing how users are employing ChatGPT. There are three takeaways that stood out to me: Usage is booming. Interactions are becoming higher quality. And users are increasingly using the model for non-work related topics. These datapoints tell a cohesive story: ChatGPT is becoming a more reliable counterpart in our daily personal lives.
Usage is Booming
The first chart below shows Message Volume from ChatGPT consumer plans, indexed to 1x = April 1, 2024, levels (Figure 4 in the report). In just the last 17 months, total Message Volume has grown more than 7x (shown on the ‘All Cohorts’ line). And as shown in the second chart (Figure 5 in the report), this growth has been fueled by usage growth across each cohort sign up date. Said differently, no matter when users signed up for ChatGPT, on average they’re using it more.
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Interactions are Becoming Higher Quality
OpenAI’s ‘Interaction Quality’ classifier uses explicit user actions (a thumbs up or thumbs down on a given response, or expression of (dis)satisfaction in a subsequent message) and other indicators to classify the user’s apparent satisfaction with the chatbot’s response. As shown in the chart below (Figure 16 in the report), ‘Good’ interactions are increasing, and ‘Bad’ interactions are decreasing.
The report notes: “In late 2024, ‘Good’ interactions were about three times as common as ‘Bad’…by July 2025 [‘Good’] was more than four times more common.”1
Non-Work-Related Topics are Gaining Share
In an important step towards becoming a personal assistant, and less of a professional tool, ChatGPT is increasingly being used for non-work-related topics. OpenAI classified messages in either a ‘likely part of work’ bucket and ‘likely not part of work’ bucket by analyzing key words and intention. The results are clear: “53% of messages were not related to work in June 2024, which climbed to 73% by June 2025”1 as shown in the chart below (Figure 6 in the report). It seems clear ChatGPT is increasingly becoming a trusted, personal assistant.
Investors may feel reassured that one of the companies at the forefront of the AI Revolution is seeing its blockbuster application, ChatGPT, gaining in many key performance indicators. Usage is booming. Quality is increasing. And users are increasingly employing it in their personal lives. With these promising results, the company may continue to invest heavily in model development.
All charts originated from the research paper referenced: How People Use ChatGPT
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