Source: Krystal Hu, “ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base—analyst note,” Reuters, February 2, 2023.
Commentary: Launched November 30, 2022, OpenAI’s ChatGPT had 57 million users by the end of December and likely reached 100 million monthly active users by the end of January, according to investment bank UBS. For comparison, it took TikTok and Instagram (two of the most widely used social media platforms) about nine months and 2.5 years, respectively, to reach that number.
The chatbot currently boasts 13 million unique daily users on average, and the rapid surge in users has proved a technical issue as ChatGPT’s servers often overload in the face of high traffic volumes. OpenAI is currently testing a $20/month subscription service to its “ChatGPT Plus,” where in addition to access to the chatbot (even during high-traffic periods), subscribers will get faster response times and “priority access to new features and improvements.” UBS estimates that the market for generative artificial intelligence (e.g., text-, image-, and audio-generating algorithms) is worth approximately $1 trillion.
