ChatGPT nears one billion users as Studio Ghibli-style AI images double weekly actives

In brief: If you're still dubious about the impact generative AI is having on the world, consider this: ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman recently suggested that the chatbot's weekly active users have reached, or are very close to, one billion people. Altman said that user numbers had doubled in just a few weeks, thanks in no small part to the updated image generation feature and the incredibly popular Studio Ghibli imitations.

Speaking onstage at TED on Friday, curator Chris Anderson asked Altman how many users ChatGPT had (via Forbes).

"I think the last time we said was 500 million weekly actives, and it is growing very rapidly," Altman said.

"You told me that it like doubled in just a few weeks," Anderson continued.

"I said that privately," said Altman. And while Anderson offered to edit his remarks, Altman said it was okay, repeating that user numbers were growing very fast.

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Altman then revealed that "something like" 10% of the world uses OpenAI's systems. With the global population currently just over 8 billion, that would equal 800 million users.

Following its launch on November 30, 2022, as a free research preview based on the GPT-3.5 model, ChatGPT reached 100 million users in two months. That made it the fastest-growing computer application in history. By comparison, TikTok took nine months to reach 100 million users, while Instagram took two and half years to hit the same figure.

By August 2024, ChatGPT's weekly active user numbers had hit 200 million.

A big part of ChatGPT's recent uptick in users stems from OpenAI's March 25 update of the tool's image generator, introducing new elements such as better image handling.

The result was social media being flooded with images and videos created in various styles, the most popular of which was that of Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli.

The fad of generating these images became so widespread and intense that it put an enormous strain on OpenAI's infrastructure. Altman said the demand had been so high that it was "melting" the company's GPUs. The good news for OpenAI was that the update had attracted one million new ChatGPT users in a single hour.

According to new data from Appfigures, ChatGPT was the world's most downloaded app in March, excluding games, as installs increased 28% from February to reach 46 million new downloads last month. While OpenAI has the improved image generator to thank for the uptick, the removal of some safeguards on image generation, allowing the creation of images depicting public figures, hateful symbols, and racial features, probably helped, too.

While consumers continue to embrace generative AI, its widespread use raises questions about the technology's role in the workplace. More companies are cutting staff, often due to their job duties being diminished or erased by the likes of AI agents.

When asked for his views on AI replacing humans, Altman said, "You can say, oh, man, it's doing everything I do, what's going to happen to me? Or you can say, like, through every other technological revolution in history, okay, now there's this new tool. I can do a lot more. What am I going to be able to do? It is true that the expectation of what we'll have for someone in a particular job increases, but the capabilities will increase so dramatically that I think it'll be easy to rise to the occasion."