ChatGPT rockets to 700M weekly users ahead of GPT-5 launch with reasoning superpowers

OpenAI’s ChatGPT will reach 700 million weekly active users this week, the company announced Monday, cementing its position as one of the fastest-adopted software products in history just as the company prepares to release its most powerful language model yet.

The surge is a 40 percent jump from the 500 million weekly users ChatGPT had at the end of March and marks a fourfold increase from the same period last year. The explosive growth rivals the adoption rates of platforms like Zoom during the pandemic and early social media networks, underscoring how quickly AI tools have moved from experimental to essential.

This week, ChatGPT is on track to reach 700M weekly active users — up from 500M at the end of March and 4× since last year. Every day, people and teams are learning, creating, and solving harder problems. Big week ahead. Grateful to the team for making ChatGPT more useful and…

— Nick Turley (@nickaturley) August 4, 2025

The milestone comes at a strategic moment for OpenAI, which reportedly plans to launch GPT-5 in early August, citing sources familiar with the company’s plans. The timing suggests OpenAI is orchestrating a coordinated push to dominate the AI landscape before competitors can close the gap.

“Every day, people and teams are learning, creating, and solving harder problems,” said Nick Turley, OpenAI’s vice president of product for ChatGPT, in announcing the user benchmark. “Big week ahead.”

GPT-5 will combine reasoning powers into single AI system

The upcoming model goes beyond an incremental upgrade. According to people briefed on the project who spoke to The Information, GPT-5 will integrate OpenAI’s advanced reasoning capabilities from its o3 series directly into the flagship GPT platform, creating what CEO Sam Altman has described as “a system that integrates a lot of our technology.”

This integration marks a strategic shift for OpenAI, which has previously released reasoning models separately from its general-purpose language models. By combining these capabilities, the company aims to reduce user confusion about which model to deploy for specific tasks while creating a more powerful unified system.

turns out yes! pic.twitter.com/yVsZXKSmKR

— Sam Altman (@sama) August 3, 2025

The consolidation also serves OpenAI’s broader ambition to achieve artificial general intelligence, or AGI — a milestone that would trigger significant changes to its partnership with Microsoft. Under their current agreement, achieving AGI would force Microsoft to relinquish its rights to OpenAI’s revenue and future models, potentially reshaping one of the most consequential partnerships in technology.

Altman has tempered expectations, however, stating that GPT-5 won’t reach “gold level of capability for many months” after launch, suggesting the AGI threshold remains beyond immediate reach.

Business customers jump to 5 million as revenue hits $13 billion

The user growth reflects ChatGPT’s expanding role in corporate America. OpenAI now serves 5 million paying business customers, up from 3 million in June, as enterprises increasingly integrate AI tools into core operations. Daily user messages have surpassed 3 billion, reflecting not just growth in users but intensifying engagement with the platform.

This surge in business adoption has driven OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue to $13 billion, up from $10 billion in June, with projections suggesting it could exceed $20 billion by year-end. The revenue growth, combined with a recent $8.3 billion funding round that valued OpenAI at $300 billion, provides the financial foundation for the massive infrastructure investments required to maintain its technological edge.

Those investments are substantial. OpenAI has committed to a $30 billion annual lease with Oracle for data center capacity and struck an $11.9 billion deal with cloud provider CoreWeave, while planning international expansion through partnerships like Stargate Norway and a major data center project in Abu Dhabi.

The rapid growth comes as OpenAI faces mounting pressure from well-funded rivals eager to capture market share. Google’s AI search product, AI Overviews, claims 2 billion monthly users across more than 200 countries, while its Gemini App reports 450 million monthly active users. Anthropic, backed by significant investments from Amazon and others, is reportedly seeking to raise up to $5 billion at a $170 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg.

Meta has made significant strides with its Llama models, while Elon Musk’s xAI continues to attract attention and investment. The competitive landscape has intensified the AI arms race, with companies pouring billions into compute infrastructure and talent acquisition.

The competition has triggered a talent war among tech giants. Microsoft has reportedly hired more than 20 employees from Google’s DeepMind team in recent months, including former Gemini engineering head Amar Subramanya, The Information reported, as companies raid each other’s AI talent pools.

ChatGPT adds wellness features as AI safety concerns grow

As OpenAI pursues raw capability improvements, the company has also emphasized optimizing ChatGPT for user well-being and productivity. The company recently outlined efforts to help users “thrive in the ways you choose—not to hold your attention, but to help you use it well.”

We build ChatGPT to help you thrive in the ways you choose — not to hold your attention, but to help you use it well. We’re improving support for tough moments, have rolled out break reminders, and are developing better life advice, all guided by expert input.…

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) August 4, 2025

New features include break reminders and improved support for challenging situations, reflecting growing awareness of AI’s psychological and social impacts. This focus on responsible deployment could prove crucial as regulatory scrutiny intensifies and public debate about AI’s societal effects continues.

When GPT-5 launches, it will include multiple variants — including mini and nano versions available through OpenAI’s API — providing developers and enterprises with options tailored to different use cases and computational requirements.

700 million users signal AI’s mainstream business adoption

The convergence of ChatGPT’s user growth and GPT-5’s launch marks a pivotal moment for the AI industry. OpenAI’s ability to maintain its lead while competitors rapidly advance will likely determine the sector’s trajectory for years to come.

The company’s success has already reshaped how businesses think about AI integration, moving the technology from experimental projects to core operational tools. The 700 million user figure shows this transformation is accelerating, with implications extending far beyond technology into education, creative industries, and knowledge work.

For enterprise customers, the user growth provides confidence in ChatGPT’s stability and longevity — crucial factors for organizations making long-term AI investments. The platform’s scale also creates network effects, as widespread adoption drives improvements in model training and capability development.

OpenAI now faces a test that will define the company’s future: whether it can convert unprecedented user growth into sustained market dominance. In a field where yesterday’s breakthrough becomes tomorrow’s baseline, 700 million users might just be the beginning.

Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily

If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.

Read our Privacy Policy

Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.

An error occured.