The utilisation of ChatGPT in the workplace has witnessed a remarkable surge, as highlighted by a recent study conducted by DeskTime during the first quarter of 2023.
The findings revealed an exponential growth pattern, with ChatGPT use doubling every month. In a significant milestone, the app secured a place among the top 100 most-used workplace applications in April, indicating its growing significance within professional settings.
The study, which drew data from a global sample of over 24,000 DeskTime users, underlines the relevance and impact of ChatGPT both inside and outside the workplace.
How much is it being used?
Examining the usage trends from January to April 2023, DeskTime observed substantial growth in ChatGPT adoption month after month. The data showcased a 120 percent growth from January to February, followed by an impressive 108 percent growth from February to March. Although the growth rate moderated in March to April with a 17.9 percent increase, ChatGPT still managed to debut at the 79th position among the most-used workplace apps.
Notably, the exponential growth of ChatGPT in the first three months of the year surpassed the app’s own growth rate. In February 2023, ChatGPT reached a staggering user base of 1 billion, marking a 55 percent increase from the previous month. This phenomenon demonstrates that while the general public swiftly recognized the benefits of this technology, businesses were initially slower to embrace its advantages, but are now catching up.
What are the consequences of its increased usage?
The rising utilization of ChatGPT among office workers occurs amidst discussions and concerns within workplaces regarding potential job redundancies due to the introduction of AI. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, eagerly leverage this technology to gain a competitive edge. For instance, companies like IBM have temporarily halted hiring for roles that can be automated by AI. In France, AI was employed to produce visuals for a swimwear campaign, eliminating the need for a photographer. The images acknowledged AI as their source.
ChatGPT has set a record as the fastest-growing app of all time, reaching an impressive milestone of 100 million monthly active users within just two months of its launch. Comparatively, TikTok required nine months to achieve the same feat, while Instagram took 2.5 years.
Alongside concerns about ChatGPT displacing jobs, debates surrounding the appropriateness, ethics, and intellectual property implications of employing generative AI in creative fields such as writing, design, and programming have emerged. CNET, a technology news site, conducted an experiment using AI-generated articles, revealing significant levels of plagiarism. This topic has also raised concerns in academia, where educators search for alternative methods to evaluate students given ChatGPT’s capability to write research papers, essays, and dissertations.
In conclusion, the findings from DeskTime’s data confirm the rising adoption of ChatGPT, as businesses increasingly recognize the benefits of this transformative technology.
Artis Rozentals, CEO of DeskTime, says:
“We’re seeing that businesses are playing catchup with the rest of the world. If at first ChatGPT was used for fun and to test the opportunities of generative AI, now we’re seeing a systematic integration of the technology into businesses themselves. I don’t think this is anything to be afraid of – the diverse applications can only improve the productivity of businesses, and those that can implement it successfully will have the upper hand.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
