What are people ChatGPTing about

In his book Co-existence, Ethan Mollick shares the September 2025 OpenAI large-scale analysis of actual ChatGPT usage.

The findings offer a clearer picture of what a billion people are actually doing with AI. Companionship and emotional support? Less than 3 percent of all messages. Computer programming, despite dominating the discourse? Just over 4 percent.

Nearly 80 percent of all conversations fall into just three categories: practical guidance (tutoring, how-to advice, personalized recommendations), seeking information (the AI version of Google), and writing (drafting, editing, translating).