ChatGPT is growing at lightning speed. A new report from VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) reveals that OpenAI’s chatbot has doubled its weekly active users in just under six months.
Rapid Rise in User Numbers
Back in November 2023, ChatGPT hit 100 million weekly active users and by August 2024, that number had climbed to 200 million. Now, in less than six months, it has soared to 400 million weekly active users. That’s an impressive leap.
When ChatGPT first launched in November 2022, it quickly became the fastest app ever to reach 100 million monthly users. It took only two months to hit that mark. Since then, demand has continued to rise, fueled by powerful updates and new features.
What’s Driving ChatGPT’s Growth?
At first, ChatGPT’s popularity came mostly from curiosity. People wanted to try it, but many weren’t sure how to use it daily. That’s changed. OpenAI has consistently improved the chatbot, making it more useful and engaging.
The release of GPT-4o in early 2024 played a key role in its growth. This upgrade introduced multimodal capabilities that allowed ChatGPT to process text, images, and audio. After this launch, usage spiked between April and May 2024.
Later, the rollout of Advanced Voice Mode in July triggered another surge. More users turned to ChatGPT between July and August. The o1 model series followed and boosted engagement even further from September to October.
Also read: All The ChatGPT Updates & Timeline
Mobile Usage on the Rise
ChatGPT’s mobile growth has been steady. According to a16z, mobile app users have increased by 5% to 15% each month over the past year. Today, 175 million of ChatGPT’s 400 million weekly active users access it on mobile.
Competition Among AI Chatbots
ChatGPT isn’t the only player in town. Rivals like DeepSeek are making waves and in just 10 days, DeepSeek climbed to No. 2 globally. By February 2025, it had captured 15% of ChatGPT’s mobile user base.
On mobile, DeepSeek users are slightly more engaged than those on Perplexity and Claude. However, ChatGPT still leads the AI chatbot market by a wide margin.
ChatGPT Dominates AI Rankings
Despite fierce competition, ChatGPT remains on top. The report ranks it No. 1 for unique monthly visits on the web and monthly active users on mobile. Market intelligence provider Similarweb confirms this dominance.
