OpenAI Signals data shows ChatGPT use widening across age, work, and global markets
Q1 2026 data from consumer ChatGPT plans shows broader adoption across older users, more countries, and recurring workplace tasks, although enterprise, education, and Codex usage are excluded.
OpenAI Signals data shows ChatGPT use widening across age groups, countries, and workplace tasks in Q1 2026
OpenAI has released new Q1 2026 usage data showing that ChatGPT adoption is spreading beyond early adopters, with usage broadening across age groups, inferred gender patterns, global markets, and work-related tasks.
The data comes from OpenAI Signals and covers messages sent on ChatGPT consumer plans, including Free, Go, Plus, and Pro. It does not include Codex, ChatGPT Enterprise, or ChatGPT education products, which means the figures do not capture the full scale of AI use in workplaces, schools, universities, or technical teams.
ChatGPT usage expands beyond younger users
OpenAI says users under 35 still accounted for the largest share of total ChatGPT messages in Q1 2026. However, users over 35 gained share during the quarter, suggesting adoption is becoming less concentrated among younger and earlier AI users.
The company also says users with typically feminine names represented a growing share of ChatGPT usage after reaching approximate parity last year. They now account for more than half of users where OpenAI is able to infer gender from names.
Adoption spreads across more countries
OpenAI’s country-level data ranks markets by messages sent per capita, rather than by total usage. In Q1, several of the fastest-rising countries were outside the largest established ChatGPT markets.
The Dominican Republic and Haiti each rose nine places between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Japan rose eight places, while Mexico and Tanzania each moved up six places. Brazil, Costa Rica, Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea each gained five places, and Austria moved up four places.
OpenAI says these figures show relative movement in usage ranking, not total market size. Even so, the pattern suggests ChatGPT adoption is continuing to spread across Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Europe.
Workplace tasks become more varied
OpenAI’s Q1 data also shows ChatGPT being used for a wider range of work-related tasks on consumer plans. Writing and information-related tasks remained among the largest categories, but more specialized activities gained ground during the quarter.
The fastest-growing work-related uses included visual design, health and medical documentation, information retrieval, operational planning, education and vocation advice, business operations advice, educational program development, marketing materials, and proposal and grant preparation.
That pattern suggests consumer ChatGPT accounts are being used for repeatable work tasks, not only casual experimentation. It also points to a skills issue for employers and educators: AI use is becoming embedded in everyday work before formal training, policy, and assessment practices have caught up.
OpenAI Signals is making usage data available to researchers and policymakers as part of its work on AI’s economic impact.
