By Aijaz Alam
How many people use ChatGPT?
ChatGPT has more than 1 billion weekly active users, OpenAI said on 31 August 2026, up from the 500 million people who used it every week in March 2025. In the US, 44% of adults said they use ChatGPT in Pew Research Center's survey of February 2026, rising to 61% of adults aged 18 to 29.
- 1 billion+ChatGPT weekly active usersOpenAI, 31 Aug 2026 (company-reported)
- 44%US adults who say they use ChatGPTPew Research Center, 17-23 Feb 2026
- 61%US adults aged 18 to 29 who use ChatGPTPew Research Center, 17-23 Feb 2026
- 50 million+OpenAI consumer subscribersOpenAI, 27 Feb 2026 (company-reported)
- About 53%ChatGPT's share of generative AI website visits, down from about 76% a year earlierSimilarweb, May 2026
The numbers
The full breakdown
How many people use ChatGPT, by measure
| Measure | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly active users | More than 1 billion | Aug 2026 | OpenAI |
| Consumer subscribers | More than 50 million | Feb 2026 | OpenAI |
| US adults who say they use ChatGPT | 44% | 17-23 Feb 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| ChatGPT's share of generative AI website visits worldwide | About 53% | May 2026 | Similarweb |
| Average monthly web visits to all generative AI platforms | 9.5 billion | Jun 2025 - May 2026 | Similarweb |
OpenAI's figures are company-reported and not audited. Pew is a survey of 5,119 US adults. Similarweb counts web visits from a panel, not app use, and puts unique visitors to generative AI platforms at 655 million a month.
US adults who use ChatGPT, by age (Feb 2026)
| Age | Use ChatGPT |
|---|---|
| 18 to 29 | 61% |
| 30 to 49 | 55% |
| 50 to 64 | 37% |
| 65 and older | 19% |
| All US adults | 44% |
Pew Research Center, American Trends Panel, 5,119 US adults, 17-23 Feb 2026.
US adults who say they use ChatGPT, each year
| Survey year | Use ChatGPT |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 18% |
| 2024 | 23% |
| 2025 | 34% |
| 2026 | 44% |
Pew Research Center. From 2023 to 2025 the question was "Have you ever used ChatGPT?", asked of those who had heard of it; in 2026 it also asked about other chatbots, so 2026 is not a clean continuation.
US adults who use each AI chatbot (Feb 2026)
| Chatbot | All US adults | Ages 18 to 29 | Ages 65 and older |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 44% | 61% | 19% |
| Gemini | 24% | 30% | 11% |
| Copilot | 17% | 17% | 10% |
| Meta AI | 14% | 14% | 10% |
| Grok | 8% | 9% | 3% |
| Claude | 6% | 10% | 1% |
| Character.ai | 3% | 7% | 1% |
Pew Research Center, 5,119 US adults, 17-23 Feb 2026. 49% of US adults use any AI chatbot.
Over time
ChatGPT weekly users, as stated by OpenAI
| OpenAI post | Weekly users | Wording |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 2025 | 500 million | people who use ChatGPT every week |
| 15 Sep 2025 | 700 million | weekly active users |
| 5 Nov 2025 | More than 800 million | weekly users |
| 27 Feb 2026 | More than 900 million | weekly active users |
| 31 Aug 2026 | More than 1 billion | weekly active users |
Each date is the OpenAI blog post that states the figure, not the day the count was taken. OpenAI does not publish a monthly series, a country split or its method.
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 billion+ weekly | Aug 2026 | OpenAI | Weekly active users as reported by the company; method not published. |
| 44% of US adults | Feb 2026 | Pew Research Center | Survey answer about any use, US only; 2026 question also listed other chatbots. |
| 49% of US adults | Feb 2026 | Pew Research Center | Use of any AI chatbot, not ChatGPT alone. |
| About 53% of visits | May 2026 | Similarweb | Share of web visits to generative AI sites, not people; apps are not counted. |
| 655 million | Jun 2025 - May 2026 | Similarweb | Average monthly unique web visitors to all generative AI platforms, not ChatGPT alone. |
The figures measure different things. OpenAI's 1 billion is the company's own figure for weekly active users. It is the only direct count of ChatGPT users, but it is company-reported, it is not audited, and OpenAI does not explain how it handles one person on several devices or accounts.
Pew's 44% is a share of US adults who say they use ChatGPT at all, from a survey. It says nothing about how often they use it, and it covers only the US. Pew changed the question in 2026, so the rise from 34% in 2025 is not a like-for-like comparison.
Similarweb measures web traffic from a panel. Its 53% is ChatGPT's share of visits to generative AI websites, which fell as Gemini and others grew, even while ChatGPT's own user count kept rising. Visits are not people, and mobile app use is outside the figure. Quote each number with its unit: weekly users, share of adults, or share of web visits.
What it means
How to use these numbers
ChatGPT is now one of the most used software products in the world. OpenAI's count doubled from 500 million weekly users in March 2025 to more than 1 billion in August 2026, and in the US close to half of adults say they use it.
Use is still uneven. Six in ten adults under 30 use ChatGPT, against about one in five people aged 65 and older. ChatGPT is also far ahead of other chatbots in the US: Gemini, the next most used, reaches 24% of adults.
For marketers, this means ChatGPT is a real discovery channel, but not yet a universal one. Its share of AI web traffic is falling as rivals grow, so a plan built only around ChatGPT misses a growing part of AI search.
For journalists, write "more than 1 billion weekly active users, according to OpenAI" and give the date of the statement. Do not turn the weekly count into a share of the world's population: one person can hold several accounts.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- OpenAI
- Company blog posts, 31 Mar 2025 to 31 Aug 2026; weekly active users as stated by OpenAI, no published method
- Pew Research Center
- American Trends Panel, 5,119 US adults, 17-23 Feb 2026, weighted to the US adult population
- Similarweb
- Web traffic panel, worldwide web visits to generative AI platforms, Jun 2025 to May 2026; read on an archived copy because similarweb.com blocks automated readers
- Checked at source
- 23 Oct 2026 (repo stats); 31 Oct 2026, the OpenAI posts of 31 Mar 2025, 15 Sep 2025, 5 Nov 2025, 27 Feb 2026 and 31 Aug 2026, and Pew's 2026 report and age chapter
- Last changed
- 30 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- OpenAI company posts, OpenAI Vendor data
- Pew Research Center Survey
- Similarweb AI search statistics (2026 Generative AI Landscape), Similarweb Vendor data
Cite this page
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FAQ
More questions people ask
How many people pay for ChatGPT?
More than 50 million consumer subscribers, OpenAI said on 27 February 2026, when it also reported more than 900 million weekly active users.
Which age group uses ChatGPT the most?
Adults aged 18 to 29: 61% use it, against 55% of 30 to 49 year olds, 37% of 50 to 64 year olds and 19% of those 65 and older (Pew, February 2026).
Is ChatGPT losing users to Gemini?
Not in weekly users, which OpenAI says kept rising to more than 1 billion. Its share of generative AI web visits did fall, from about 76% in June 2025 to about 53% in May 2026 (Similarweb).
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (OpenAI, Pew Research Center, Similarweb). Free to cite with a link to this page.