A year has elapsed since the debut of ChatGPT, a chatbot that sparked a fierce competition among tech moguls reigning over Silicon Valley. However, as it reaches its first anniversary, the echoes of its inception are far from fading into mere infancy.
With its effortlessly navigable consumer-facing platform, ChatGPT has seamlessly etched its name into households worldwide. A mere two months after its introduction, the chatbot garnered 100 million monthly active users in January, securing its position as the world’s fastest-growing app.
Presently, ChatGPT boasts a user base exceeding 180 million, transcending the digital realm by expanding to iOS after an initial six-month web-only interface, with Google Play joining the fray fashionably late, two months later.
Celebrating its first birthday, ChatGPT has amassed a remarkable global revenue of $28.6 million, according to data.ai. This success is attributed to the $20 monthly subscription for ChatGPT Plus, considered a luxurious indulgence, and revenue from providing API services to businesses.
Despite the initial speculation that ChatGPT might render Google obsolete, the latter remains the world’s most visited website, boasting a monthly traffic of 165 billion page views, dwarfing OpenAI’s 3.1 billion page clicks.
Considerable developments have unfolded since November 2022, rendering ChatGPT more conversational. Recently, OpenAI introduced a voice feature, enabling users to engage with the chatbot verbally, akin to a conversation with a neighbor. The chatbot has also acquired image interpretation capabilities, allowing users to present images for analysis.
Moreover, ChatGPT underwent a knowledge update, incorporating data until January 2022. Users of ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise can now leverage internet access for information retrieval.
Since November of the previous year, OpenAI has upgraded from GPT-3.5 to GPT-4, with GPT-5 anticipated for release in the coming year. GPT-5 is projected to emulate artificial general intelligence (AGI), excelling in reasoning, personalization, and confidentiality.
However, not everything has been smooth sailing for ChatGPT. It has faced legal challenges, with writers and authors accusing its parent company of training the chatbot on copyrighted material. Additionally, the chatbot’s propensity to generate inaccurate information has led to controversies, such as a New York-based lawyer receiving fake citations during legal research.
Internally, OpenAI has witnessed a struggle over the future of artificial general intelligence, resulting in the temporary firing and subsequent rehiring of CEO Sam Altman by the board members of its non-profit parent company.
As the technological landscape evolves, ChatGPT has left an indelible mark. Only time will unveil the shifts in the AI space a year from now. Until then, the journey continues with anticipation and uncertainty.
