Key takeaways
- OpenAI's ChatGPT reaches 700 million weekly active users, reflecting significant growth in AI reliance.
- Focus on real-world helpfulness prioritizes user task completion over time spent on the platform.
- New features enhance ChatGPT's ability to assist with personal and practical tasks.
- Promote healthy usage patterns by reminding users to take breaks during long sessions.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is on track to reach 700 million weekly active users, up from 500 million at the end of March, according to Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT. The chatbot has seen 4× growth since last year, signalling a growing reliance on AI for learning, productivity, and problem-solving.
“Big week ahead. Grateful to the team for making ChatGPT more useful and delivering on our mission so everyone can benefit from AI,” he said in a post on X.
OpenAI also published a blog post in which it said that it built ChatGPT to help users thrive in all the ways they want. “To make progress, learn something new, or solve a problem — and then get back to your life. Our goal isn’t to hold your attention, but to help you use it well,” OpenAI said in its blog post.
Instead of optimising for time spent or clicks, OpenAI says it focuses on whether users leave ChatGPT having completed what they came for. Metrics like daily, weekly, or monthly return usage are prioritised as signs of real-world value.
To improve usefulness, OpenAI is rolling out features that address both practical and personal tasks. New use cases include helping users prepare for difficult conversations, understand medical lab results, or sort through complex emotional decisions. For example, ChatGPT may act as a sounding board rather than making decisions in situations such as relationship questions.
The update also brings a stronger focus on healthy usage patterns. A new feature reminds users to take breaks during long sessions. The company said it will “keep tuning when and how [these reminders] show up so they feel natural and helpful.”
Another area of focus is mental and emotional well-being. “There have been instances where our 4o model fell short in recognising signs of delusion or emotional dependency,” OpenAI said. In response, the company is building tools to better detect such signals and guide users to evidence-based resources.
ChatGPT is also undergoing changes in how it responds to high-stakes personal questions. Instead of offering direct answers, it will encourage users to weigh pros and cons and think through their choices. This behaviour is being rolled out soon.
OpenAI said it has collaborated with more than 90 physicians across over 30 countries, including psychiatrists, paediatricians, and general practitioners, to develop evaluation rubrics for ChatGPT’s responses in multi-turn conversations. It has also engaged human-computer interaction researchers and clinicians to refine its safeguards.
An advisory group made up of mental health professionals, youth development experts, and human-computer-interaction(HCI)researchers is being formed to guide OpenAI’s long-term strategy for ChatGPT.
