ChatGPT is now used by around 10% of the world’s population, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a TED 2025 interview last weekend. This means that around 800 million users have accessed ChatGPT in the past few weeks. According to Altman, the number of users has doubled since the ChatGPT-4o model with its more powerful image generation feature was launched.
This high usage is driven by people wanting to try out the Studio Ghibli-like image generation feature that went viral two weeks ago. We’re sure you’ve seen a lot of anime images like those by Hiyao Miyazaki being used by friends to wish them Selamat Hari Raya. Altman himself admitted that the incredible demand for image generation has “melted OpenAI’s computer browsers” and has led to image generation limits being placed on free ChatGPT users.