ChatGPT Weekly Users Surge Past 700M in 4x Growth

Key Points

• ChatGPT Weekly Users Surge Past 700M in 4x Growth
• User base grew 4x in a year, says OpenAI VP
• 5M paying businesses now use the AI chatbot
• Users spend 16 minutes daily on average in 2025

OpenAI’s flagship AI chatbot, ChatGPT, is making headlines once again — this time for reaching a massive milestone.

The company says it is on track to hit 700 million weekly active users, a huge leap in growth that places ChatGPT among the top-used digital platforms in the world today.

Nick Turley, OpenAI’s VP and head of ChatGPT’s app, confirmed the news in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter). He mentioned that the chatbot’s user base has grown 4x in just the last 12 months, marking a breakthrough year for the product.

This week, ChatGPT is on track to reach 700M weekly active users — up from 500M at the end of March and 4× since last year. Every day, people and teams are learning, creating, and solving harder problems. Big week ahead. Grateful to the team for making ChatGPT more useful and…

— Nick Turley (@nickaturley) August 4, 2025

“Every day, people and teams are learning, creating, and solving harder problems,” Turley wrote. “Big week ahead. Grateful to the team for making ChatGPT more useful and delivering on our mission so everyone can benefit from AI.”

ChatGPT’s last publicly known user count stood at 500 million weekly users at the end of March. That means the app has added roughly 200 million users in just four months.

very crazy first week for images in chatgpt – over 130M users have generated 700M+ (!) images since last tuesday

India is now our fastest growing chatgpt market 💪🇮🇳

the range of visual creativity has been extremely inspiring

we appreciate your patience as we try to serve…

— Brad Lightcap (@bradlightcap) April 3, 2025

This kind of growth isn’t just rare,  it’s historic. Few consumer apps have ever reached this level of adoption in such a short time, especially in the AI space. And this is not just a passive user base.

People are actively spending time on the app, using it to generate ideas, write content, solve coding problems, and even create images. You can see how ChatGPT conversations have evolved into deeper, more task-oriented interactions in recent months.

What’s Driving the Surge in ChatGPT Weekly Users?

Several key developments over the past year have fueled this surge in ChatGPT weekly users, and much of it comes down to how OpenAI is upgrading the product.

In March 2025, the company launched a powerful image-generation feature powered by the GPT-4 model. This allowed users to describe an image with text and have ChatGPT generate it in seconds. Within a few days of this release, over 130 million users had generated 700 million+ images.

This wasn’t just a cool trick; it was a serious boost in functionality. It gave users a new reason to use ChatGPT daily, both for work and play.

In April, OpenAI’s COO Brad Lightcap reported that the rollout of this image feature created a massive spike in user activity. It was a pivotal moment that accelerated ChatGPT’s growth curve.

And it’s not just individual users. Businesses are increasingly jumping in.

Back in June, ChatGPT had around 3 million paying business users. Now, just a few weeks later, that number has jumped to 5 million.

That’s a 66% increase in business adoption in less than two months, a clear sign that teams are using ChatGPT to streamline their workflows, automate tasks, and improve productivity.

very crazy first week for images in chatgpt – over 130M users have generated 700M+ (!) images since last tuesday

India is now our fastest growing chatgpt market 💪🇮🇳

the range of visual creativity has been extremely inspiring

we appreciate your patience as we try to serve…

— Brad Lightcap (@bradlightcap) April 3, 2025

Whether it’s marketing, coding, customer service, or internal communications, companies are finding real ROI in using ChatGPT.

Meanwhile, tech competitors are responding fast. Apple’s AI Answer Engine is entering the space with a more native search integration, and Google is doubling down with tools like Gemini 2.5 to maintain its edge in search and productivity.

ChatGPT Engagement Levels Rival the Big Tech Giants

While raw user numbers are impressive, what stands out is how often and how long people are using ChatGPT.

According to data from Sensor Tower, ChatGPT users are now using the app on average 12.2 days per month, that is nearly every other day. Only Google and X have higher average usage among consumer apps.

In terms of time spent, the report states that users are spending around 16 minutes per day on the app. That may sound small, but it’s huge in the context of AI tools, which are typically used in bursts.

These numbers point to one major insight: ChatGPT isn’t just a novelty. It’s becoming an essential part of people’s daily digital habits.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT to hit 700 million weekly users, up 4x from last year https://t.co/u0cQypdaB0

— CNBC (@CNBC) August 4, 2025

Students are using it to write essays. Developers are debugging code. Entrepreneurs are brainstorming product names and pitches. Creators are scripting videos. And companies are using it to draft emails, summarize meetings, and analyze reports.

It’s no longer just an AI tool; it’s becoming a daily-use platform like email or messaging apps.

The infrastructure behind these AI tools is also becoming more important. Meta, for example, is building out powerful AI infrastructure to compete with OpenAI in the long run. And OpenAI is continuously refining its capabilities to stay ahead.

The Road Ahead for ChatGPT

OpenAI hasn’t shared projections for what’s next, but with the current momentum, ChatGPT could reach 1 billion weekly users soon.

The team continues to expand features and improve usability. They’re also exploring deeper integrations into business software and education tools, which could bring in even more frequent users.

Another factor? Mobile. As more users rely on the ChatGPT app for iOS and Android, mobile usage is rising fast, making the tool available anytime, anywhere.

Meanwhile, Apple has increased its AI investments to keep pace with this AI wave, signaling that the AI race is just heating up.

OpenAI’s early lead, strong user engagement, and regular product updates are keeping ChatGPT far ahead of competitors. It’s not just a trend. It’s a foundational shift in how people work, learn, and create.

And as other tools like Google’s AI bug hunter emerge to make the ecosystem more secure, the landscape is becoming richer, smarter, and faster.

For now, the numbers speak for themselves: 700 million weekly users, rising daily engagement, and millions of paying businesses. ChatGPT’s rise isn’t slowing down; it’s just getting started.