OpenAI says it has proof its tools are making workers more productive

OpenAI figures claim ChatGPT now has 500 million users globally
Younger workers use it more, but the youngest aren’t the biggest users
OpenAI wants to democratize artificial intelligence and support workers

OpenAI has released new research claiming its AI tools technology is providing major productivity benefits – whilst also recognizing it could majorly disrupt some areas negatively.

This year, ChatGPT has been used by 28% of US adults for work purposes, up from 8% in 2023, suggesting more and more are getting to grips with its productivity and efficiency benefits.

Among its most popular use cases are learning and upskilling (20%), writing and communication (18%), programming, data science and maths (7%), creative ideation, business analytics and even translation.

ChatGPT looks to boost productivity

Interestingly, while we usually see younger generations adopting emerging technologies more quickly, OpenAI revealed that more 25-34-year-old use ChatGPT (32%) compared with 18-24-year-olds (24%), suggesting that generative AI could be more beneficial to slightly more senior positions than entry-level roles.

Lawyers, customer support agents, consultants, government workers and teachers have all reported considerable time savings when using AI.

OpenAI’s ‘Unlocking Economic Opportunity’ paper also claimed AI helps to lower the barrier to entry for entrepreneurship and small businesses, with Y Combinator’s 2025 cohort growing at around 10% weekly due to the growing number of AI-first startups.

However, even OpenAI acknowledges AI can bring disruption despite its significant productivity promises.

Claiming it now supports more than 2.5 billion messages per day from 500 million users globally, the company noted it has a responsibility to guide the change – not halt it – by democratizing access, supporting workers and building inclusive systems.

“We’re off to a strong start, creating freely available intelligence being used by more than 500 million people around the world, including 3 million developers,” the company wrote.

“OpenAI looks forward to working with policymakers, workers, educators and the public to better understand how AI is changing the economy and ensure that the economic gains that AI brings result in widespread growth and expanded opportunity.”