What you need to know
- ChatGPT reportedly was used by 100 million people in January 2023.
- The AI chatbot has dominated the tech headlines since it was released in November of last year.
- Analysts from UBS said that there's a good chance ChatGPT is the fastest growing consumer app in history.
ChatGPT is one of the biggest stories in tech right now, but it isn't just popular among media outlets. According to analysts at UBS, the AI-powered chatbot was used by 100 million people in January 2023. With ChatGPT only becoming publicly available in November of last year, a total of 100 million monthly users is likely a record.
"In 20 years following the internet space, we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet app," said UBS (via Reuters). For context, Sensor Tower states that the popular social media platform TikTok took nine months to have 100 million users in a month. Instagram took 2.5 years, though that platform launched when social media and apps were less popular than it is today.
The same study stated that ChatGPT had 57 million users in December. An addition of 43 million users in the third month of general availability is quite rare among consumer apps and services.
In 20 years following the internet space, we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet app.
UBS analysts
ChatGPT is a chatbot that places the power of artificial intelligence at the fingertips of both casual and professional users. It's used for a variety of purposes, such as writing articles, assisting developers with coding, and answering questions. There are also less-than-wholesome uses for the tool, such as cheating on homework.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is backed heavily by Microsoft, which invested $1 billion into OpenAI in 2019. Microsoft also announced an expanded partnership with OpenAI last month in a deal that was rumored to be worth $10 billion.
Microsoft plans to integrate AI into all of its products, and it has already started rolling out artificial intelligence tools to Microsoft Teams and other services.
Previous reports claim that Microsoft will also build ChatGPT into Bing as well.
