Study Reveals 70% of ChatGPT Conversations Are Personal, Not Professional
Most people use ChatGPT for personal reasons rather than work, according to a new study released by OpenAI in partnership with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The research shows that more than half of all users seek advice or guidance, making casual or private conversations the dominant use case.
Key Findings
Personal vs. Work Use
About 77% of conversations involve information requests, writing assistance, or other practical help.
Yet only 30% of consumer usage is related to work tasks. Personal use has climbed from 53% to 70% of total activity in just one year.
Informational Chats Increasing
In July 2025, 24% of sessions were purely informational—a 10% rise from the previous year.
Study Scope
Researchers analyzed more than 1.5 million chats between May 2024 and July 2025 using privacy-preserving methods. They excluded enterprise accounts, deleted or banned users, anyone under 18, and people who opted out of data sharing.
Advice Requests Dominate
Nearly 49% of users asked for personal advice or counseling. Only 11% of conversations were for play or self-reflection.
Coding Help Declines
Technical use, such as programming support, dropped from 12% to 5% as more developers moved to APIs and specialised AI coding tools.
Global Growth Patterns
Adoption is four times faster in low-income countries than in high-income ones.
Younger users lead the way, with 46% of all messages coming from the 18–25 age group.
Gender Balance Shifts
Names traditionally associated with women now represent 52% of users, up from 37% in early 2024.
Broader Context
Despite Google’s dominance in web search, the report shows that a growing share of people turn to conversational AI for answers and everyday assistance. OpenAI notes that while business adoption is still emerging, ChatGPT is becoming a personal assistant, counselor, and entertainment source for millions.
