Benj Edwards / Ars Technica / OpenAI
On Wednesday, Reuters reported AI bot ChatGPT reached approximately 100 million monthly active users last month, just two months after launch, making it the “fastest-growing consumer app ever,” according to a UBS investment bank research note. By comparison, it took TikTok nine months to reach 100 million monthly users and Instagram around 2.5 years. according to UBS researcher Lloyd Walmsley.
“In the 20 years since the Internet space, we cannot recall a faster ramp up in a consumer Internet application,” Walmsley was quoted by Reuters as saying in the UBS note.
Reuters says UBS data comes from research firm similar websiteswhich states that around 13 million unique visitors used ChatGPT every day in January, doubling the number of users in December.
ChatGPT is an extensive language conversational model (LLM) that can discuss almost any topic at a near-human level. Read context and answer questions easily, though sometimes not accurately (improving your accuracy is a work in progress). After launching as a free public beta on November 30, the GPT-3-powered AI bot has inspired awe, awe, and fear in education, computer security, and finance. It’s shaking up the tech industry, sparking a $10 billion investment from Microsoft and making Google watch its life flash before its eyes.
So on Wednesday, OpenAI Announced ChatGPT Plus, a $20 per month subscription service that will offer users faster response times, preferential access to ChatGPT during peak hours, and priority access to new features. It’s an attempt to keep up with the intense demand for ChatGPT that has often seen the site turn users away due to overwhelming activity.
In recent decades, researchers have noted that technology adoption rates they are accelerating, with inventions like the telephone, television, and the Internet taking less time to reach large numbers of users. Will generative AI tools be next on that list? With the kind of trajectory that ChatGPT shows, it’s totally possible.
