ChatGPT’s surge to 100 million users raises questions about the future of AI-authored content

ChatGPT is off to one of the hottest starts in tech history. The next-generation chatbot now has approximately 100 million users, including a few high-profile proponents. Jonah Peretti, the Co-Founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, revealed that his company will employ AI to generate new types of content.

The company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, built the bot with a combination of large language models and reinforcement learning. Since opening up to the public in December, ChatGPT has been hailed for the accurate and detailed responses it provides.

According to investment bank UBS, ChatGPT was on track to surpass 100 million users in January. For comparison, TikTok took nine months to reach 100 million users, and Instagram needed more than two years to reach that milestone. “This is the fastest consumer application I have seen to hit 100 million monthly active users in my career covering this space,” UBS equities analyst Lloyd Walmsley told CBS. “The ramp has been extraordinary.”

ChatGPT’s user base isn’t limited to individual consumers — entrepreneurs are also eager to apply the technology to their businesses. In a memo to BuzzFeed employees, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Peretti said that “AI-inspired content move from an R&D stage to part of our core business, enhancing the quiz experience, informing our brainstorming, and personalizing our content for our audience.”

According to the WSJ report, BuzzFeed will work with OpenAI to enhance its quizzes. As the media company plots a path to personalize its content through emerging technology, it is dealing with the same economic woes that have plagued much of the tech industry. BuzzFeed cut 12% of its employees in a move announced this past December.

But before ChatGPT can work as a full-fledged business solution, it will have to increase its reliability. OpenAI has dealt with regular outages as its buzzy new product continues to attract users. In order to allieviate some of the pressure on its servers, OpenAI has started to move ChatGPT behind a paywall. The $20-per-month ChatGPT Plus subscription will grant priority access to the bot’s services.

OpenAI has also developed a tool that identifies AI-generated text across the web. I’m not sure if we should be concerned that AI responses are now difficult to distinguish from human writing. I’ll ask ChatGPT what it thinks and get back to you.