From asking to doing: How the world is putting ChatGPT to work

OpenAI published country-by-country data on August 6 showing how more than 1 billion people use ChatGPT, revealing a shift from asking questions to completing tasks. The company said the data reflects messages sent within ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro accounts managed by individuals rather than organizations. At work, people are more than twice as likely to use ChatGPT to complete tasks such as writing, coding, and analysis than they are outside work. Outside of work, seeking information remains the largest category of use. The adoption gap is closing as countries in Latin America, Africa, and Oceania catch up to early adopters, with Peru, Uruguay, and Costa Rica rising the most in global per-capita rankings during the second quarter of 2026. Multimedia use is the fastest-growing category globally, accounting for 7.8% of messages and more than one in ten in Brazil and Colombia following the release of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in April 2026. Usage among people over 35 is rising in nearly every country, with the share of messages increasing by more than 10 percentage points in France and Czechia over the past year.