ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users, up 200 million in two months

ChatGPT now has 1.2 billion weekly users, according to OpenAI. That is up from 1 billion just two months ago. The company also says people now ask ChatGPT about one-fifth as many search-style questions as they ask Google. The numbers came from Adam Fry, who leads ChatGPT's consumer product, at an OpenAI dinner in New York City on Monday night.

What changed

Fry said ChatGPT grew by roughly 100 million users in 30 days, then by another 100 million in the next 30. "The growth is just going big," he said. He also pointed out how far the product has come. Early on, ChatGPT had no up-to-date information and would say a question was past its training date.

How a search is counted

Fry said a search is counted every time someone asks a question and ChatGPT looks it up on the web. A long chat with many questions can count as many searches. He said people first used ChatGPT for writing and coding help, which are not really searches. Now they also look up people, places, finance and health topics, where current facts matter.

Voice and images

Other numbers shared in the talk:

• 250 million people a week use voice, including dictation and talking with ChatGPT.
• People make 1.5 billion images with ChatGPT each week.
• Voice users are about 20% of the user base, and Fry said many more could discover it.

Fry credited newer voice models for making conversations feel more natural, including letting people interrupt. He also said ChatGPT's Chat and Work modes will be merged, so the toggle at the top will go away.

Why it matters for business

If more people ask ChatGPT where they once used a search engine, customers may find companies in a different way. Fry described ChatGPT remembering context, such as a planned trip to Paris, and tailoring answers to it. Business owners may want to ask ChatGPT about their own products and services and see what comes back.

What is not known

These figures come from OpenAI, and the material does not say how the comparison with Google was measured. Fry also spoke about the cost of running its personal assistant, Dots, and about advertising, but the details are not in the excerpt available here.