Statistics · Updated October 2026
ChatGPT statistics for 2026: users and usage
These ChatGPT statistics cover who uses it, how they use it, and what that means for brands that want to be named in its answers.
Short answer
How many people use ChatGPT?
About 1 billion people use ChatGPT every week, according to OpenAI on 6 August 2026. That is up from 700 million weekly active users in September 2025, also reported by OpenAI.
Key figures
Key ChatGPT stats at a glance
- of US adults say they ever use ChatGPT (61% of adults aged 18 to 29)
- 44%
- of US adults say they ever use ChatGPT (61% of adults aged 18 to 29)
- Pew Research Center, June 2026
- of ChatGPT messages are non-work, up from 53%
- 70%+
- of ChatGPT messages are non-work, up from 53%
- NBER working paper w34255, 2025
- of AI referral traffic to websites comes from ChatGPT (2026)
- 74.78%
- of AI referral traffic to websites comes from ChatGPT (2026)
- SE Ranking, 2026
- of US ChatGPT prompts showed a citation in May 2026, up from 1.6% in June 2025
- 6.8%
- of US ChatGPT prompts showed a citation in May 2026, up from 1.6% in June 2025
- Similarweb, July 2026
- brands named per ChatGPT answer to a buyer question (Perplexity 5.8, Gemini 5.5)
- 6.4
- brands named per ChatGPT answer to a buyer question (Perplexity 5.8, Gemini 5.5)
- LLMReach measurement, October 2026
- websites cited per ChatGPT answer (Perplexity 8.0, Gemini 2.5)
- 4.2
- websites cited per ChatGPT answer (Perplexity 8.0, Gemini 2.5)
- LLMReach measurement, October 2026
- of the websites ChatGPT cites rank in Google's top 10 for the same question
- 10.7%
- of the websites ChatGPT cites rank in Google's top 10 for the same question
- LLMReach measurement, October 2026
All figures
Every ChatGPT statistic we track
| Statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly active ChatGPT users, February 2026 | 900M+ | OpenAI, 27 February 2026 |
| Consumer subscribers to ChatGPT | 50M+ | OpenAI, 27 February 2026 |
| Weekly active ChatGPT users, September 2025 | 700M | OpenAI, 15 September 2025 |
| World adult population that had adopted ChatGPT by July 2025 | ~10% | NBER working paper w34255, 2025 |
| Messages that are "Asking" (40% "Doing", 11% "Expressing") | 49% | OpenAI, 15 September 2025 |
| Conversations on practical guidance, seeking information or writing | ~80% | NBER working paper w34255, 2025 |
| Users with typically feminine names by July 2025 (37% in January 2024) | 52% | OpenAI, 15 September 2025 |
| Adoption growth, lowest-income vs highest-income countries (May 2025) | 4x | OpenAI, 15 September 2025 |
| ChatGPT share of generative AI website visits, May 2026 (~76% in June 2025) | ~53% | Similarweb, July 2026 |
| ChatGPT responses that contain an ad | ~26% | Similarweb 2026 Generative AI Landscape report |
| US adults who use ChatGPT, 2023 to 2026 | 18% to 44% | Pew Research Center, June 2026 |
| Businesses reached by OpenAI models | 2 million+ | OpenAI, 31 July 2026 |
| More messages a day six months after sign-up | ~50% | OpenAI, 31 July 2026 |
| Annualized revenue run rate of ChatGPT Ads, in under 200 days | $1 billion | OpenAI, 31 August 2026 |
| Pages cited by ChatGPT search ranking in position 21+ | ~90% | Semrush, July 2025 |
What it means
What this means for your brand
The audience is already there
OpenAI reports 1 billion weekly users, and Pew Research Center finds 44% of US adults use ChatGPT. Being absent from its answers means missing a mainstream channel.
Google rank does not decide citations
Semrush found about 90% of ChatGPT-cited pages rank in position 21+. LLMReach found only 10.7% of cited sites sit in Google's top 10.
Many brands compete in each answer
LLMReach's measurement shows ChatGPT names 6.4 brands per buyer answer and cites 4.2 sites. Winning a mention means being one of a few cited sources.
Trend
US adult ChatGPT use is rising
View the data as a table
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US adults using ChatGPT | 18% | 23% | 34% | 44% |
Source: Pew Research Center, June 2026
Our data
How ChatGPT answers compare.
ChatGPT next to Gemini and Perplexity, on the same 250 buyer questions.
Per assistant, % of answers or names
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Perplexity
Source: LLMReach measurement, 750 answers to 250 buyer questions in 25 sectors, 5 to 7 October 2026View as table
| Brand | ChatGPT | Gemini | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cite a website | 100% | 92.8% | 100% |
| Brands no other AI named | 59% | 58.3% | 58.5% |
| Sources in Google top 10 | 10.7% | 13.4% | 14.4% |
Our data
The sites ChatGPT cites most.
Websites ChatGPT cited in its 250 answers to buyer questions, ranked by how many answers cite them.
- 01cited in 10 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 02cited in 9 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 03=charitynavigator.orgCharity Navigator - Rating for Action Against Hunger USAcited in 6 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
ChatGPT
- 03=cited in 6 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 03=expertise.com13 Best Dallas, TX Tax Services | Expertise.comcited in 6 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 03=cited in 6 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 03=cited in 6 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 08=bestinhood.com5 Best Car Dealerships in Chicago (2026)cited in 5 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 08=cited in 5 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 08=eater.comChicago's Best Pizzacited in 5 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 08=reuters.comEuropean shippers, forwarders to deliver strong Q3 on resilient demand for pricey freightcited in 5 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
- 12a16z.coma16zcited in 4 of 250 answers
- ChatGPT
LLMReach measurement, ChatGPT (gpt-5-6), 5 to 7 October 2026.
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<a href="https://www.llmreach.ai/ai-search-statistics/chatgpt-statistics">
<img src="https://www.llmreach.ai/charts/ai-search-statistics/chatgpt-statistics.svg" alt="The sites ChatGPT cites most" width="800" loading="lazy" />
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<p>Source: <a href="https://www.llmreach.ai/ai-search-statistics/chatgpt-statistics">ChatGPT statistics by LLMReach</a></p>Free to use with the credit link.
Methodology
How these figures were measured.
| Assistant | Model | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-6 | 250 |
| Gemini | 3.5 Flash-Lite | 250 |
| Perplexity | sonar | 250 |
10 example buyer questions, from the 250 asked to each assistant
- 01best digital marketing agency in Chicago for B2B companies
- 02best Toyota dealership in Houston
- 03what is the best CRM for a 10-person sales team?
- 04best natural deodorant that actually works
- 05best endpoint detection and response platform for a mid-size company
- 06who is the best family dentist in Houston that takes new patients?
- 07best running shoes for flat feet
- 08best online MBA program for working professionals
- 09which vendors should we evaluate for enterprise data security?
- 10best fee-only financial advisor for tech executives with stock options
- Third-party figures come from primary sources we read ourselves, such as OpenAI, Pew Research Center, NBER, Similarweb, SE Ranking and Semrush.
- Our own figures come from 750 answers to 250 buyer questions across 25 sectors, compared with Google's top 10 for the same questions.
- Dates are shown on every figure, so you can tell a 2025 number from a 2026 one.
- Different methods explain different numbers. Survey, traffic panel and API measurements answer different questions, so compare them with care.
Cite this page
Quote these figures in your work
<p>
Source: <a href="https://www.llmreach.ai/ai-search-statistics/chatgpt-statistics">ChatGPT statistics for 2026: users and usage</a>,
LLMReach, updated October 2026.
</p>Writers are welcome to cite these figures and link to this page.
FAQ
ChatGPT statistics: common questions
How many people use ChatGPT?
OpenAI reported on 6 August 2026 that 1 billion people use ChatGPT every week. In February 2026 it reported more than 900M weekly active users, and in September 2025 it reported 700 million.
What are the latest ChatGPT weekly active users?
OpenAI states that every week 1 billion people turn to ChatGPT (6 August 2026). Earlier OpenAI figures were more than 900M weekly active users in February 2026 and 700 million in September 2025.
What do ChatGPT usage statistics show about how people use it?
OpenAI found 49% of messages are "Asking", 40% "Doing" and 11% "Expressing" (15 September 2025). The NBER paper w34255 found non-work messages grew from 53% to more than 70% of usage.
What do ChatGPT user statistics say about US adults?
Pew Research Center (June 2026) found 44% of US adults ever use ChatGPT, up from 18% in 2023, 23% in 2024 and 34% in 2025. Among adults aged 18 to 29 the share is 61%.
How much traffic from ChatGPT do websites get?
SE Ranking (2026) reports that ChatGPT accounts for 74.78% of AI referral traffic to websites. Similarweb (July 2026) adds that 6.8% of US ChatGPT prompts showed a citation in May 2026.
What did LLMReach's own measurement find about ChatGPT?
LLMReach measurement, October 2026: across 750 answers to 250 buyer questions in 25 sectors, ChatGPT named 6.4 brands and cited 4.2 sites per answer. Only 10.7% of cited sites ranked in Google's top 10.
Free AI Audit
See where ChatGPT names your brand
You leave knowing where the gap is, what is causing it, and which changes would matter first, whether we work together or not.
What to expect
Audit
Before the call, we run your buyers' questions through ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini.
Map
On the call, we show you where competitors are cited and you are not, and what's causing it.
Decide
An honest read on whether the Citation Stack fits. If it doesn't, you'll hear it on the call.
Don't see a time that works? Email Karim directly: contact@llmreach.ai