--- title: "ChatGPT’s Explosive Popularity Makes It the Fastest-Growing App in Human History" description: "OpenAI's ChatGPT is reportedly the fastest-growing app in human history, reaching an estimated 100 million active monthly users in just the two months." date: "2023-02-03" modified: "2023-02-03" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpts-fastest-growing-app-human-history" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # ChatGPT’s Explosive Popularity Makes It the Fastest-Growing App in Human History ![OpenAI's ChatGPT is reportedly the fastest-growing app in human history, reaching an estimated 100 million active monthly users in just the two months.]() *\Image: NurPhoto via Getty / Futurism\* ## Making History According to [reporting from *Reuters*](), OpenAI's ChatGPT is now the fastest-growing app in human history, reaching an estimated 100 million active monthly users in just the two months since its November release. "In 20 years following the internet space," UBS analysts reportedly wrote in a note to *Reuters*, citing a report from web traffic analytics firm SimilarWeb, "we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet app." Per that report, an average of roughly 13 million unique visitors were using ChatGPT *per day* in January — a jaw-dropping figure, and double the average number of individual users that were using the tech each day in December. To say this thing has taken off like wildfire hardly cuts it, and [VCs have paid attention](). ## Virality Machine Of course, comparing ChatGPT, certainly the newest Silicon Valley darling, to established SV behemoths like Google, Apple, or Meta isn't totally fair, considering the role that social media in particular has played in ChatGPT's exponential success. Virality channels didn't always exist in the way that they do today. Still, these figures are wildly impressive. Few things stay viral for more than a few days, let alone months, and while new apps and technologies are created all the time, few actually have real holy-shit-this-could-change-the-world value. Generative AI tools do, ChatGPT especially. At the very least, ChatGPT is almost certain to change the internet as we know it, a form of world-building, destroying, and changing in its own right. ## First to the Jump Likely also contributing to the AI's success with users is the fact that it's completely free, a company decision that has not only encouraged curious netizens to give the chatbot a whirl but also granted OpenAI an absolute mountain of new data with which to train and improve the model. (That said, the company just yesterday [announced a subscription plan]() called ChatGPT Plus, a paid tier that for $20/month offers users access at all times — when there are too many users, the program will turn excess users away — better speed, and "priority access" to feature updates.) And as ChatGPT was the first of its kind to make it to market with this big of a splash, its influence in the AI industry — as well as that of [OpenAI's products]() [across the board]() — has been cemented. The [safety might]() [not be there]() yet, but [the money]() sure is. **READ MORE:** [*ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base - analyst note*]() \[*Reuters*\] **More on impressive AI tools:** [*Amazing New Catgpt AI Answers as If It Were a Kitty Cat*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()