OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on how different generations use ChatGPT: 'Gross oversimplification, but…'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said that how people use ChatGPT depends on their age. Speaking at Sequoia Capital's AI Ascent event, Altman was asked a question about how young people use ChatGPT. Replying to the question, he said “Gross oversimplification, but like, older people use ChatGPT as a Google replacement”, adding “Maybe people in their 20s and 30s use it like a life advisor, something”. "And then, like, people in college use it as an operating system,” he stated.

“They really do use it like an operating system. They have complex ways to set it up to connect it to a bunch of files, and they have fairly complex prompts memorized in their head or in something where they paste in and out,” Altman added.

“There's this other thing where they don't really make life decisions without asking ChatGPT what they should do. It has the full context on every person in their life and what they've talked about”, he further explained.

Sam Altman on how OpenAI is using ChatGPT

When asked how OpenAI itself is using ChatGPT, Altman replied ChatGPT "writes a lot of our code". He did not reveal the exact percentage of code.

In a report released in February this year, OpenAI revealed that college students in the US are the biggest users of ChatGPT, using it more than any other group or for any other purpose. The report said that more than one-third of Americans aged 18 to 24 use the AI tool.

A survey by Pew Research Center in January showed that 26% of US teens aged 13 to 17 used ChatGPT for schoolwork in 2024 — a sharp rise from 13% in 2023.