ChatGPT Nears 1 Billion Users, Driven by Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images

ChatGPT nears one billion users as Studio Ghibli-style AI images double weekly actives

In brief: If you're still dubious about the impact generative AI is having on the world, consider this: ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman recently suggested that the chatbot's weekly active users have reached, or are very close to, one billion people. Altman said that user numbers had doubled in just a few weeks, thanks in no small part to the updated image generation feature and the incredibly popular Studio Ghibli imitations. Speaking onstage at TED on Friday, curator Chris Anderson asked Altman how many users ChatGPT had (via Forbes). "I think the last time we said was 500 million weekly actives, and it is growing very rapidly," Altman said. "You told me that it like doubled in just a few weeks," Anderson continued. "I said that privately," said Altman. And while Anderson offered to edit his remarks, Altman said it was okay, repeating that user numbers were growing very fast. Also read: OpenAI files countersuit against Elon Musk to stop his disruptive actions and "sham" takeover bid Altman then revealed that "something like" 10% of the world uses OpenAI's systems. With the global population currently just over 8 billion, that would equal 800 million users. Following its launch on November 30, 2022, as a free research preview based on the GPT-3.5 model, ChatGPT reached 100 million users in two months. That made it the fastest-growing computer application in history. By comparison, TikTok took nine months to reach 100 million users, while Instagram took two and half years to hit the same figure. By August 2024, ChatGPT's weekly active user numbers had hit 200 million. A big part of ChatGPT's recent uptick in users stems from OpenAI's March 25 update of the tool's image generator, introducing new elements such as better image handling. The result was social media being flooded with images and videos created in various styles, the most popular of which was that of Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. The fad of generating these images became so widespread and intense that it put an enormous strain on OpenAI's infrastructure. Altman said the demand had been so high that it was "melting" the company's GPUs. The good news for OpenAI was that the update had attracted one million new ChatGPT users in a single hour. According to new data from Appfigures, ChatGPT was the world's most downloaded app in March, excluding games, as installs increased 28% from February to reach 46 million new downloads last month. While OpenAI has the improved image generator to thank for the uptick, the removal of some safeguards on image generation, allowing the creation of images depicting public figures, hateful symbols, and racial features, probably helped, too. While consumers continue to embrace generative AI, its widespread use raises questions about the technology's role in the workplace. More companies are cutting staff, often due to their job duties being diminished or erased by the likes of AI agents. When asked for his views on AI replacing humans, Altman said, "You can say, oh, man, it's doing everything I do, what's going to happen to me? Or you can say, like, through every other technological revolution in history, okay, now there's this new tool. I can do a lot more. What am I going to be able to do? It is true that the expectation of what we'll have for someone in a particular job increases, but the capabilities will increase so dramatically that I think it'll be easy to rise to the occasion."

OpenAI doubles users to 800M-1B thanks to Ghibli-style image generation - SiliconANGLE

OpenAI doubles users to 800M-1B thanks to Ghibli-style image generation All new technologies have their tipping points where they go from enthusiast to mainstream. Artificial intelligence, a term coined by John McCarthy in 1956 that has long held the imagination of many, has seemingly now hit that tipping point, but not for the reason scientists and science fiction writers could have guessed: Japanese anime cartoons. Some three weeks after OpenAI rolled out a significant upgrade to ChatGPT-4o, which allowed users to create images, such as images in the style of Project Ghibli, AI has arguably hit its tipping point, with Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman (pictured, Ghibli style) revealing that the company has seen its user base double in the last three weeks. Altman made the revelation on stage during a discussion with TED curator Chris Anderson on Friday, but exactly how many users ChatGPT now has isn't entirely clear. The number could be 800 million or 1 billion, depending on how you take Altman's comments. Forbes reported an interaction between the two on stage in which Anderson asked Altman, "How many users do you have?" Altman responded by saying, "I think the last time we said was 500 million weekly actives and it is growing very rapidly." Then Anderson continued, "You told me that it like doubled in just a few weeks," to which Altman replies, "I said that privately, but I guess..." That would put ChatGPT's user figure at 1 billion. In the same discussion, though, Altman then says, "Something like 10% of the world uses our systems, now a lot," which would make the figure about 800 million. Whether the figure is 800 million or 1 billion, either one is impressive. And the new growth has primarily been from people using ChatGPT to create Project Ghibli images, though new memes have since taken over, most recently the action figure/art toy meme. Altman was also asked about whether any consideration had been given to compensating artists for creating works in their style. Altman responded that, in time, there might be a way for certain prompts to trigger automatic payments for creators who opt in. He added that guardrails are in place to prevent the model from generating copyright-protected works. The last line is pertinent. As it turns out and a fact missed by some in the media, the Project Ghibli images are legal, presuming they're not then used for commercial gain. Under Article 30-4 of the Japanese Copyright Act, AI developers can use copyrighted materials for training purposes without obtaining permission. Also, under Japanese law, mimicking a general artistic style is not considered infringement. There is a line: Generating an image that closely resembles a specific character or scene from a Studio Ghibli film would likely be a breach of copyright, but people turning their own image into a Ghibli-themed look doesn't cross that line.

OpenAI doubles user numbers to 800M-1B thanks to Ghibli-style image generation - SiliconANGLE

OpenAI doubles user numbers to 800M-1B thanks to Ghibli-style image generation All new technologies have their tipping points where they go from enthusiast to mainstream. Artificial intelligence, a term coined by John McCarthy in 1956 that has long held the imagination of many, has seemingly now hit that tipping point, but not for the reason scientists and science fiction writers could have guessed - Japanese anime cartoons. Some three weeks after OpenAI rolled out a significant upgrade to ChatGPT-4o, which allowed users to create images, such as images in the style of Project Ghibli, AI has arguably hit its tipping point, with Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman (pictured above, Ghibli style) revealing that the company has seen its user base double in the last three weeks. Altman made the revelation on stage during a discussion with TED curator Chris Anderson on April 11, but exactly how many users ChatGPT now has isn't entirely clear. The number could be 800 million or 1 billion, depending on how you take Altman's comments. Forbes reports an interaction between the two on stage in which Anderson asked Altman, "How many users do you have?" Altman responded by saying, "I think the last time we said was 500 million weekly actives and it is growing very rapidly." Then Anderson continues, "You told me that it like doubled in just a few weeks," to which Altman replies, "I said that privately, but I guess..." That would put ChatGPT's user figure at one billion. In the same discussion, though, Altman then says, "Something like 10% of the world uses our systems, now a lot," which would make the figure approximately 800 million. Whether the figure is 800 million or one billion, either one is, without argument, highly impressive. And the new growth has primarily been off the back of the virality of people using ChatGPT to create Project Ghibli images, be it that new memes have since taken over, most recently the action figure/art toy meme. Altman was also asked about whether any consideration had been given to compensating artists for creating works in their style. Altman responded that, in time, there might be a way for certain prompts to trigger automatic payments for creators who opt-in, before adding that guardrails are in place to prevent the model from generating copyright-protected works. The last line is pertinent - ChatGPT won't create copyright-protected works. As it turns out and a fact missed by some in the media, the Project Ghibli images are legal, presuming they're not then used for commercial gain. Under Article 30-4 of the Japanese Copyright Act, AI developers can use copyrighted materials for training purposes without obtaining permission. Also, under Japanese law, mimicking a general artistic style is not considered infringement. There is a line - generating an image that closely resembles a specific character or scene from a Studio Ghibli film would likely be a breach of copyright, but people turning their own image into a Ghibli-themed look doesn't cross the line.

OpenAI doubles user numbers to 800M-1B off the back off Ghibli-style image generation - SiliconANGLE

OpenAI doubles user numbers to 800M-1B off the back off Ghibli-style image generation All new technologies have their tipping points where they go from enthusiast to mainstream. Artificial intelligence, a term coined by John McCarthy in 1956 that has long held the imagination of many, has seemingly now hit that tipping point, but not for the reason scientists and science fiction writers could have guessed - Japanese anime cartoons. Some three weeks after OpenAI rolled out a significant upgrade to ChatGPT-4o, which allowed users to create images, such as images in the style of Project Ghibli, AI has arguably hit its tipping point, with Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman (pictured above, Ghibli style) revealing that the company has seen its user base double in the last three weeks. Altman made the revelation on stage during a discussion with TED curator Chris Anderson on April 11, but exactly how many users ChatGPT now has isn't entirely clear. The number could be 800 million or 1 billion, depending on how you take Altman's comments. Forbes reports an interaction between the two on stage in which Anderson asked Altman, "How many users do you have?" Altman responded by saying, "I think the last time we said was 500 million weekly actives and it is growing very rapidly." Then Anderson continues, "You told me that it like doubled in just a few weeks," to which Altman replies, "I said that privately, but I guess..." That would put ChatGPT's user figure at one billion. In the same discussion, though, Altman then says, "Something like 10% of the world uses our systems, now a lot," which would make the figure approximately 800 million. Whether the figure is 800 million or one billion, either one is, without argument, highly impressive. And the new growth has primarily been off the back of the virality of people using ChatGPT to create Project Ghibli images, be it that new memes have since taken over, most recently the action figure/art toy meme. Altman was also asked about whether any consideration had been given to compensating artists for creating works in their style. Altman responded that, in time, there might be a way for certain prompts to trigger automatic payments for creators who opt-in, before adding that guardrails are in place to prevent the model from generating copyright-protected works. The last line is pertinent - ChatGPT won't create copyright-protected works. As it turns out and a fact missed by some in the media, the Project Ghibli images are legal, presuming they're not then used for commercial gain. Under Article 30-4 of the Japanese Copyright Act, AI developers can use copyrighted materials for training purposes without obtaining permission. Also, under Japanese law, mimicking a general artistic style is not considered infringement. There is a line - generating an image that closely resembles a specific character or scene from a Studio Ghibli film would likely be a breach of copyright, but people turning their own image into a Ghibli-themed look doesn't cross the line.

ChatGPT just hit 1 billion users and melted its own servers

ChatGPT is nearing one billion weekly active users, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed at a TED conference, citing a significant surge in user numbers driven by the platform's updated image generation feature, particularly its Studio Ghibli-style imitations. Altman stated that ChatGPT's weekly active users had doubled in just a few weeks, with around 500 million users reported previously. He also revealed that roughly 10% of the global population, or approximately 800 million people, use OpenAI's systems. ChatGPT's growth has been remarkable since its launch on November 30, 2022, reaching 100 million users in just two months and becoming the fastest-growing computer application in history. For context, TikTok took nine months to reach the same milestone, while Instagram required two and a half years. The recent update to ChatGPT's image generator on March 25 introduced improved image handling and led to a surge in user-generated content, particularly in the style of Studio Ghibli. The resulting flood of images and videos on social media was so intense that it strained OpenAI's infrastructure, with Altman noting that the demand "melted" the company's GPUs. The update attracted one million new users in a single hour. 400M users and counting: ChatGPT's growth shows no signs of slowing New data from Appfigures shows that ChatGPT was the world's most downloaded app in March, excluding games, with 46 million new downloads, representing a 28% increase from February. Altman believes that the increased capabilities brought about by AI will lead to increased productivity, stating that while job expectations may rise, the technology's capabilities will "increase so dramatically" that it will be easy for people to adapt. Altman also reflected on ChatGPT's launch, tweeting, "the ChatGPT launch 26 months ago was one of the craziest viral moments i'd ever seen, and we added one million users in five days. we added one million users in the last hour."

OpenAI's ChatGPT surpasses 800 million users; CEO Altman says 10% of world uses it: Report

OpenAI's earlier release of the image-generation tool that produces Ghibli-style artwork, attracted one million users within an hour, which Altman described as among the "craziest viral moments" he had ever witnessed.OpenAI's ChatGPT has doubled its user base, reportedly surpassing 800 million users. Although the exact figures weren't disclosed, the growth was described in terms of hundreds of millions by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman in a recent conversation with TED curator Chris Anderson. According to Forbes, Sam Altman remarked that "something like 10% of the world uses our systems now -- a lot," adding that the growth is happening "really fast." Recently, ET reported that the ChatGPT app became the most downloaded app worldwide in the Android and Apple app stores, according to a report by Appfigures, a mobile analytics and app intelligence platform that tracks app performance, optimises visibility, and analyses market trends. ChatGPT topped the Apple App Store with 13 million downloads and ranked third on the Google Play Store with 33 million downloads, trailing only Instagram and TikTok. ChatGPT viral moment Following the viral release of a new image-generation tool that produces Ghibli-style artwork, user engagement on the platform surged dramatically. According to OpenAI, the platform attracted one million users within just an hour -- a spike that CEO Sam Altman described as one of the "craziest viral moments" he had ever witnessed. OpenAI leads AI innovation The US continues to dominate the global landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) model development, producing 40 notable models in 2024. With its growing user base and continuous updates aimed at keeping its open-source model competitive with Chinese AI systems like DeepSeek, ManusAI, and Alibaba's Qwen, the company has firmly established itself in the global AI race. In 2024, OpenAI emerged as the top organisational contributor, releasing seven notable AI models and emerging as a key player in the general-purpose AI systems, according to the latest Artificial Intelligence Index Report. GPT-4o lined up As usage continues to rise, Microsoft-backed OpenAI has made a big update by setting GPT-4o as the new default model for Plus, Pro, Team, and Free users. Starting April 30, the older GPT-4 model will be removed and fully replaced by GPT-4o. This transition marks a significant shift in OpenAI's product strategy, signalling the company's move toward more efficient, advanced, and accessible AI systems. GPT-4o offers multimodal capabilities to perform tasks involving real-time reasoning or multimedia inputs.