ChatGPT has spread this far! The real global picture revealed by OpenAI's latest data, "Signals"

Hey friends, it's Shii! Today I found the latest update to a data series OpenAI put out called "Signals," and I got a little excited. Have you ever wondered what kind of people actually use ChatGPT? I'd been curious about it for ages, so seeing this data got me really thrilled!

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What was announced?

As part of its in-house data analysis series called "Signals," OpenAI published a report summarizing ChatGPT usage as of Q1 2026. Looking back at trends since July 2023, the report analyzes which regions, age groups, and genders ChatGPT's use is spreading to, and how users have come to use it.

The data covers ChatGPT's consumer plans, such as Free, Go, Plus, and Pro. It doesn't include enterprise plans, plans for educational institutions, or Codex usage data. So this is data focused purely on "how individual consumers use ChatGPT."

What especially made me go "wow!" is that the growth isn't concentrated in one particular region or group, it's steadily spreading all over the world. The data clearly shows that usage is rapidly expanding not just in major English-speaking markets, but also in countries that hadn't stood out much before.

The story so far

Until now, ChatGPT has tended to carry an image like "a tool used by young people in cities" or "probably has a lot of male users." And in fact, early data suggested that users under 35 were the core of usage, and that the gender balance leaned toward men. Region-wise too, usage stood out mostly in a handful of major markets centered on English-speaking countries, so on a global scale there was still some imbalance.

In other words, it was easy to make the case that "sure, it's useful, but isn't it really just for a certain group of people, or a certain set of countries?" Personally, I always felt it would be a little sad if a new technology like this ended up being only for a specific group of people.

What changes

Looking at this Signals data, you can see that imbalance getting smaller and smaller. In terms of age, users under 35 are still the core of usage, but the 35-and-over group is steadily growing its share, and use is spreading across a wide range of ages. The gender balance is shifting too: a user makeup that used to lean toward men is getting closer to even.

On the regional side, growth rates are especially high in Africa and Asia, and usage keeps expanding in emerging markets, including Latin America and the Caribbean. This means ChatGPT is becoming less a tool for a few countries and more like shared global infrastructure. The wider the range of people who use it, the more the voices of people from all kinds of positions and backgrounds should be reflected in product improvements, so I'm excited about the updates to come, too!

Dive Deep

From here, let me go into a bit more detail with some numbers.

Scope: This data is based on usage of ChatGPT's consumer plans (Free, Go, Plus, Pro), and doesn't include enterprise or educational-institution plans, or Codex usage. In other words, it's data narrowed down to "how individuals use ChatGPT privately."

Growth by region: Looking at trends since July 2023, the highest relative growth rates are in Africa and Asia. Among the countries whose ranking for "messages per person" rose significantly in Q1 2026, the Dominican Republic and Haiti climbed 9 places quarter-over-quarter, Japan rose 8, and Mexico and Tanzania each rose 6. Other countries listed as growing include Brazil, Costa Rica, Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea, which shows the spread beyond the so-called major markets is continuing.

Change in age groups: Even as of Q1 2026, users under 35 hold the largest share of all ChatGPT messages, but the growth of the 35-and-over group is steadily continuing, and the age range is broadening.

Gender balance: In data on users' inferred gender based on their names, users with "typically female names" were 37% as of January 2024, rising to 52% as of July 2025, so the previously male-leaning user makeup is getting closer to even.

Languages: Among the languages most used besides English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic rank near the top.

Broadening of use: Tasks like writing and gathering information still make up a large share, but on top of that, use for more specialized, work-oriented tasks is growing rapidly. That includes visual design, medical documentation, business planning, education and career advice, consulting on running a business, developing educational programs, creating marketing materials, and drafting proposals and grant applications. It seems that even on consumer plans, ChatGPT is becoming established for these kinds of repeated, work-related tasks.

Wrap-up

From this Signals data, we can see that ChatGPT's usage is getting less imbalanced across age, gender, and region, and that the range of tasks it's used for keeps broadening too. Growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, a rising share of women users, expanding use among people 35 and over, and getting established for work-related tasks: all of it is data showing that "AI is becoming less something that belongs only to a specific group of people." Personally, I'm sure these changes will feed into future product-building and the rollout of features for each country, so I'm looking forward to the next Signals update, too!