How We Use AI: Major Study Reveals Trends and Patterns in ChatGPT Queries

Last Monday, OpenAI released the results of a major study (https://www.nber.org/papers/w34255) based on chat histories from around 1.5 million ChatGPT users between May 2024 and June 2025. The 62-page report covers many aspects, with some of the most important being:

Young people drive demand and clearly make up the largest user group. Almost half of the analyzed “conversations” were conducted by people aged 18 to 25. The study also showed that people are increasingly using ChatGPT in their personal lives rather than for work-related purposes. In June 2025, non-professional queries accounted for 73 percent of all interactions.

I found the results of the categorization of queries into seven areas particularly interesting. The largest share of conversations, 28.3 percent, fell into the “practical guidance” category, followed closely by “writing” at 28.1 percent, with most requests aiming to adapt or improve existing text. The third-largest category, “information search,” grew significantly within a year from 14 to 21.3 percent. Behind these, with a considerable gap, are “technical help” (7.6 percent), “creating/finding/analyzing media” (5.9 percent), “self-expression” (4.3 percent), and “other” (4.5 percent).

Andreas Demuth is founder and CEO of Upscore.