Why do people use ChatGPT? This survey suggests it’s not for work

ChatGPT burst onto the scene late last year, and since then, it’s inspired a deluge of think pieces, debate, and prognostications from AI experts. But how are the majority of people actually using it, and what do they think?

To answer that question, WordFinder, a game helper powered by YouDictionary, surveyed 1,024 Americans and 103 AI experts on their opinions of ChatGPT. Here are the key findings:

• Few people use ChatGPT regularly: While 46% of respondents say they’ve tried ChatGPT once or twice, only 19% use ChatGPT more than once a week, and only 5% use ChatGPT every day. 
• When they do, it’s typically for personal use: 74% of people say they only use ChatGPT for personal reasons, and 17% say they use it for work with their employer’s knowledge. Only 10% say they use it for work or school without their employer or school’s knowledge.
• People mostly use ChatGPT to come up with ideas: 41% of respondents say they use ChatGPT to generate ideas, 20% to create content, 14% to respond to an email, 11% to write code, and 10% to write a résumé or cover letter.
• Most respondents aren’t worried about being replaced: 81% say they aren’t worried about losing their job to GPT, 13% say they aren’t sure, and 6% say they are worried about job loss.

As for how they think ChatGPT might change the way we communicate, “the number one way our expert respondents see ChatGPT doing this is by improving the accuracy and efficiency of our ability to translate languages,” the report’s authors wrote.