ChatGPT Rakes In More Monthly Users Than Netflix, and These Other AI Tools Aren't Far Behind – PCMag UK
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ChatGPT became a household name in 2023, but has it maintained momentum following the initial hype? The answer is a resounding “yes,” according to a new FlexOS study.
But while ChatGPT reigns supreme at number one, other tools with more targeted functionality have gained prominence. Here are the top 10.
Grammarly AI is the third most popular tool on the list, helping 30 million people polish their writing and grammar. After Grammarly, the top three AI tools for writing and editing are SimplifiedAI, ZeroGPT, and Copy.AI.
Chatting with characters is another common, yet little-known use for AI. Character.AI, the fourth most-used AI tool, is a site where people can create digital personalities and talk to them for fun, or for a more practical purpose like learning a language or interviewing.
“Remember…everything characters say is made up! Don’t trust everything they say or take them too seriously,” the Character.AI site reads. Over 18 million people visit Character.AI monthly, and spend an average of two hours a day on it.
Students are using the sixth most popular tool, Brainly, which lets them take a photo of an assignment and get “expert-verified support,” the study says. “AI education tools like Brainly show how a generation is growing up with AI as a natural part of their daily lives, creating a massive impact on how we work in the future.”
After Brainly, the next most popular education AI tools are CourseHero (Tutoring), TurnItIn (AI Detection), and ELSA (English Coach).
But usage of these tools is a drop in the bucket compared to ChatGPT. OpenAI’s chatbot rakes in over half of the monthly users who tap into the tools considered in the study (1.67 billion out of 3 billion). That’s more than Netflix (1.5 billion), Pinterest (1.1 billion), Microsoft (1 billion), Twitch (1 billion), and the New York Times (609 million). No wonder the Times has blocked ChatGPT from using its articles in its answers, and is suing OpenAI for copyright infringement.
ChatGPT is considered a general purpose chatbot, meaning it aims to handle a wide variety of questions without a known expertise in any one of them. It’s similar to a Google search in that way, or Google’s ChatGPT competitor, Bard. Other popular general purpose chatbots include Microsoft’s Bing, Claude, Anthropic, and more.
Even among its peers, ChatGPT is by far the most popular with 76% of users in the category, followed by Bing (16%), Bard (7%), and Claude (1%). Microsoft Copilot comes in at 0% of the category, though Microsoft recently rebranded Bing Chat as Copilot and debuted a paid Pro version of Copilot last month, so the two are effectively the same thing.
When you add in the rest of the popular general purpose chatbots, they make up 66% of all generative AI usage. Writing and editing AI tools came in at a distant second (9%).
Big Tech’s dominance in the generative AI industry has raised alarms at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In January 2024, the FTC ordered the largest companies to submit paperwork outlining their partnerships and investments in AI “to build a better internal understanding of these relationships and their impact on the competitive landscape.”
The Biden administration also invoked the Defense Production Act to compel AI companies to inform the government about major new AI projects.
Prior to starting at PCMag, I worked in Big Tech on the West Coast for six years. From that time, I got an up-close view of how software engineering teams work, how good products are launched, and the way business strategies shift over time. After I’d had my fill, I changed course and enrolled in a master’s program for journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. I’m now a reporter with a focus on electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
I like to survey the market by trying out products from different brands. Right now, I have a Microsoft Surface laptop, an Amazon Echo for jamming out in my …
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