In particular, data acquired by Finbold indicates that global Google searches for the word ‘ChatGPT’ have spiked to hit a popularity score of 92 as of January 13. The score peaked at 100 for the week ending January 11. Notably, the term recorded a score of less than 1 as of November 30, 2022, when the tool was launched. Regarding regional breakdown, China ranks top with a peak score of 100 as of January 13, followed by Nepal at 35, while Norway is third with a score of 28. With a score of 27, Singapore is in the fourth spot, while Israel is in the fifth position at 26. Notably, from the research findings, the United States has failed to feature among countries recording increased demand for ChatGPT.
Drivers of ChatGPT’s global demand
The skyrocketing demand for ChatGPT can be tied to its functionality, which comes with advanced and creative responses that have overshadowed previous AI chatbots. The platform stands out due to several factors, such as its ability to understand and give feedback on diverse human inputs that have elevated ChatGPT to handle different tasks, such as writing code, and generating content, among others. The tool can also be leveraged in the financial markets for tasks such as offering trading insights. In this line, the tool can also be used to offer price projections of different financial assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for the end of 2023 and beyond. Additionally, the tool promises high adaptability to serve different industries, offering versatile features to be leveraged by businesses. This approach is backed by the developers committed to releasing regular updates focusing on output accuracy, while the open-source nature allows integration into different platforms. The demand for ChatGPT points to several factors, such as the preference of the masses for questions and answers as opposed to the ordinary search engine query. Interestingly, the initial success of ChatGPT awakened the technology sector at a period when most companies were announcing restructuring measures like implementing mass layoffs. The tool highlights the innovative nature of the tech sector with continued backing from established entities such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Furthermore, the growth of ChatGPT has resulted in developers of the generative AI tool considering the monetization element. The OpenAI team has fronted a monetization plan to improve and maintain the service. Already, the platform has a waitlist for users intending to leverage the professional feature. With the talk of monetizing the tool, it’s yet to be determined if the current version will remain free as it undergoes experimental stages. Notably, possible monetization will likely impact popularity and user base.
ChatGPT’s popularity in China
From the data, China is leading in ChatGPT demand despite reports indicating that local tech giants have expressed opposition to the tool. In this line, social media giant Tencent opted to remove ChatGPT-related programs from the WeChat platform. It’s worth mentioning that ChatGPT has yet to be officially available in the country. Therefore, the high demand in the country can be attributed to various factors like users opting to leverage Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). At the same time, users are likely to establish mirror sites to access the tool. In general, there is a likelihood that local Chinese tech giants will be unveiling similar products.
ChatGPT’s future barriers
Despite the initial success of ChatGPT, the technology still needs to overcome several headwinds on its path to growth and adoption. For example, ChatGPT needs more information on current events as its knowledge is limited up to 2021. Consequently, search engines have the upper hand over the ability to offer real-time information. Although ChatGPT is winning the AI chatbot market size, the tool will likely come up against the formidable competition in the future. In this case, possible competition may emerge from entities such as Google, the leading search engine. Notably, Google harbors an extensive AI team that can develop an alternative. In the meantime, critics of the tool have raised the ethical question over its ability to handle specific tasks. Such concerns have emanated from academicians regarding the possibility of students using the tool to write assignments. However, it is vital to note that such concerns have been associated with previous language models.
