How People Use ChatGPT: A Recent Study Reveals All

OpenAI recently released a substantial research paper that offers in-depth insights into how people are using ChatGPT. With 700 million people using the chatbot weekly, knowing how people are interacting with the LLM is critical for understanding how the role of AI is changing the way we search. 

The findings offer a good insight for those who work in marketing, so here's what the report tells us.

Conversation Topics 

The study groups ChatGPT conversations into seven topics, with 24 different subtopics. 

The primary topics are: 

1. Writing - using ChatGPT to create first drafts. 
2. Practical Guidance - treating ChatGPT as an assistant or an advisor, and not just a search engine. 
3. Technical Help - getting the platform to perform calculations or analyse data. 
4. Multimedia - creating and analysing images or other media.
5. Seeking Information - finding products, recipes, other specific information. 
6. Self-Expression - everyday conversations and entertainment like games and roleplay. 
7. Other/Unknown - asking about the model itself or the topic of conversation is unclear. 

Out of the seven, Practical Guidance (29%), Seeking Information (24%), and Writing (24%) accounted for 77% of all ChatGPT conversations. 

However, Seeking Information is continuing to grow in popularity whereas Writing has decreased in usage since last year. This is quite a significant shift and it highlights the need for brands to produce high-quality, informative content.

User Intent

The study separates user intent into three categories:

1. Asking - seeking information or clarification on a topic to help make a decision.
2. Doing - producing some output or performing a task. 
3. Expressing - stating a view or feeling with not intention to seek information or perform an action.

OpenAI estimates that 49% of messages are Asking, 40% are Doing, and just 11% are Expressing. This again reinforces the increasing demand for information. 

Although 70% of queries are not work-related, when it comes to work-related messages, 56% were classified as Doing, with nearly three-quarters of those being Writing tasks. From a professional perspective, it seems seeking information takes a back seat to performing tasks. 

ChatGPT’s Capabilities Have Improved 

Last year, 48% of people reported that conversations with ChatGPT were ‘good’. This is now up to 58%. However, a lot of quality has been noted as ‘unknown’, but only 14% of conversations have been labelled as ‘bad’ quality. 

Younger Users Are More Likely to Use ChatGPT

46% of users are 18-25, and the majority of their usage is not work-related. The data indicates that the older generation tend to prefer traditional search engines, whereas younger users are relying on AI assistants to complete everyday tasks.

ChatGPT is Evolving 

There has been a clear shift in search behaviour. What was once a writing assistant now seems to be an enhanced version of a search engine. ChatGPT is where people go first to get their information, and while they may still cross-reference it using traditional search methods, the increase in user satisfaction means it seems likely that one day ChatGPT will be the sole source of information for many people.

If you'd like expert help navigating this new world of search, then don't hesitate to get in touch with us today.