OpenAI allowed users to try a preview of ChatGPT for free, sparking rapid adoption. The chatbot attracted 1 million users within five days, according to its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, and quickly grew into a viral phenomenon. Its breakneck user growth set the record for the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to investment bank UBS. Analysts there estimated ChatGPT had hit 100 million monthly users in January 2023; what OpenAI had achieved within roughly two months took TikTok nine months and Instagram about 2.5 years. By March 2023, according to a Pew Research Center poll, 14 percent of U.S. adults had tried ChatGPT.
Altman described ChatGPT in a 2025 blog post as “already more powerful than any human that has ever lived,” though not everyone agrees. ChatGPT’s ability to write text and code as well as analyze data and generate images has shaken up the fields of education, computer science, law and management consulting, to name a few. Among teenagers, 26 percent say they have used ChatGPT for schoolwork, as high schools and colleges decide how, and whether, to integrate AI tools into the classroom.
Many other companies have also released AI chatbots. Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, Anthropic’s Claude and xAI’s Grok all launched to the public in the months and years following the introduction of ChatGPT. OpenAI and its fellow tech titans acknowledge that their creations come with great possibilities and great risks. In 2023, a group of AI scientists and industry leaders signed a safety statement, affirming that “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority.” At the same time, Altman has said “the future can be vastly better than the present” with the help of artificial intelligence.
The benefits and pitfalls of AI remain controversial. Advocates tout the potential productivity gains and growth in GDP that could result from the incorporation of AI tools in the workplace. In science and medicine, they might lead to new research breakthroughs and life-saving advancements in care. Still, AI text-generating tools are prone to hallucinate by presenting incorrect information as fact. Some people have suffered “AI psychosis” after interacting with chatbots that encourage delusional thinking. Then, there is the environmental impact. AI chatbots like ChatGPT require an incredible amount of water and power to keep their data centers running.
OpenAI has steadily released more advanced models, including GPT-4 and GPT-5, and adoption rates for the software have continued to climb. In early November 2025, as ChatGPT approached its third anniversary, the company reported some 800 million people used the chatbot every week.
