Chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are changing the way people learn, work, and spend their free time. Both companies have released new data, and other researchers have also studied how people are actually using these tools. The findings show clear patterns in what tasks dominate, how demographics are shifting, and what impact this has on daily life.
Who Is Using ChatGPT & Claude
The user base has grown quickly, with hundreds of millions of weekly active users. Adoption is especially strong in middle-income and lower-income countries, showing that these tools are spreading worldwide and not just limited to wealthier regions.
The gender gap has also narrowed. At first, men were more likely to use chatbots, but now the balance is much closer to equal. While young adults are still a large share of users, older age groups are also adopting the technology more than before. This shows that AI tools are no longer just a trend for early adopters but are moving into mainstream use.
What People Use Chatbots For
Most people use chatbots for practical tasks. The top three categories are everyday guidance, seeking information, and writing help. This includes drafting emails, summarizing texts, planning travel, explaining topics, and learning new skills.
Personal use is much bigger than work use, with over 70% of conversations falling into non-work categories. Still, work tasks like preparing reports, decision support, and brainstorming remain an important part of engagement.
Coding requests have become less common compared to a year ago. Instead, users now focus more on information queries and productivity support. Expressive or emotional usage, such as companionship or roleplay, is small in comparison, representing less than 10% of overall activity.
How Claude Differs
Anthropic’s Claude shows different usage patterns than ChatGPT. Its adoption is higher than expected in countries like Israel, Singapore, and South Korea, showing strong growth in tech-savvy regions.
Claude is also more heavily used for coding compared to ChatGPT. In other regions, Claude is popular for education, research, and professional tasks. Companionship or roleplay is almost absent in Claude usage, with less than 1% of activity falling into those categories. This suggests Claude is used more as a productivity tool than as a social or emotional outlet.
Impact on Users
The strongest reported impact is increased productivity. Users save time drafting documents, summarizing, and planning. Access to knowledge is also faster, since users can get direct answers instead of searching across many sites.
Personal growth is another impact. People use AI to learn, explore hobbies, and even practice communication skills. However, risks exist too. Heavy users sometimes show higher signs of loneliness or emotional dependence. There are also privacy and security concerns when people share personal or sensitive information with chatbots.
Engagement Trends
As the tools improve, engagement keeps rising. Billions of messages are sent every day. Tasks have shifted over time, with less coding but more knowledge-seeking and information queries.
The broader the user base becomes, the more varied the interactions are. This feedback loop helps companies improve their models, which further increases engagement. The balance between work and personal life use also means people are interacting with chatbots multiple times a day for different reasons.
Challenges Ahead
Accuracy remains one of the biggest issues. Wrong or outdated answers can lead to problems if users rely on them too much. Privacy and data security are also major concerns, especially as chatbots become more personalized.
Another challenge is sustaining engagement. While growth is strong, keeping long-term users active requires constant updates and new features. There is also the question of fairness and accessibility. Not all groups benefit equally, and gaps remain in languages, cultural fit, and digital access.
The Future of Chatbot Use
Looking ahead, chatbots will likely become even more multimodal, combining text, images, and voice. They may also become more personalized, adapting to each user’s style and preferences.
At the same time, stronger safety systems and clearer regulations will be needed. As chatbots take a bigger role in education, work, and personal life, transparency and trust will be critical. More research and regular data reports will also help the public and policymakers understand the impact.
Conclusion
The data from OpenAI and Anthropic make one thing clear: chatbots are now an everyday tool for millions of people. They are mostly used for practical guidance, writing, and information, while emotional use is smaller. Adoption is spreading globally, and engagement is increasing as models improve.
The challenge now is to grow these benefits while reducing risks. If done well, chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude could become trusted partners in both professional and personal life.
Resources
- OpenAI – How People Are Using ChatGPT (2025 research report)
- Anthropic – Economic Index Geography Report
- Arstechnica – OpenAI’s First Study on ChatGPT Usage
- The Decoder – New Data on ChatGPT and Claude Use
- ITPro – What People Really Use ChatGPT For
- Social Media Today – OpenAI Shares Usage Data
- eWeek – Anthropic Economic Index and Claude Use
- NBER Working Paper – How People Use ChatGPT
- TechCrunch – AI Companionship Usage Insights
- arXiv – Risks of AI Over-Reliance and Privacy Concerns