When the UK first went into lockdown 3 years ago, TikTok had less than 5 million app users in the UK. Last month, 21.4 million people used TikTok – that’s 43% of the UK internet population.
In March 2020, video conferencing services such as Zoom and MS Teams surged in popularity. Houseparty, a video chat app described as the ‘next best thing to hanging out in real life’ was one of the fastest growing apps; its audience went from almost nothing to 4.6 million during the first month of lockdown. Whilst Zoom and MS Teams have become the mainstay of the new hybrid working model, sadly Houseparty no longer exists.
Since UKOM started reporting usage of thousands of websites and apps, some online brands have come and gone whilst others have become engrained in peoples’ daily lives.
Three years on and the focus today is on Artificial Intelligence. Last week Bill Gates said that AI like OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most significant technological advance since modern computers. Meanwhile Google launched Bard to select users and introduced a wait list for its roll out.
So how big is ChatGPT in the UK currently, who is using it and how quickly is it growing? The chart below, shows usage of OpenAI online since ChatGPT launched in November 2022.
Over 2.6 million people visited OpenAI (ChatGPT) in February and they spent on average 42 minutes using it– over three times longer than the month before. In addition to tracking adoption since launch, UKOM can provide brands and organisations with early insight into who their audience is and how their profile changes over time. As with the usage of many new technologies, the early adopters of OpenAI skew towards young people – most notable under 25s, males and students. 2.68m million people equates to just over 5% of the UK online population but reach declines by age from 15% for under 25s to less than 1% among those aged 75+. Males (8.1%) are much more likely to have visited the website than females (2.8%), with a higher reach also among students. In addition to demographics, UKOM can also draw upon the lifestyle statements in Ipsos iris to profile users. It’s perhaps no surprise to learn that 69% of OpenAI users agree that they ‘like to keep up with developments in technology’ and 73% agree they are ‘interested in any technology that saves them time’ (with 38% agreeing strongly).
It's too early to identify any profile changes since launch but UKOM will keep track of ChatGPT so see how its audience changes over time as the technology and market matures.
The category is set to expand rapidly over the coming year as competitors come on board. Microsoft is already using a form of ChatGPT in its new Bing search engine, Snapchat has announced a chatbot called My AI, and of course Google’s Bard is likely to roll out beyond select invitees. Luckily, UKOM, through its endorsement of Ipsos iris, the industry standard for measuring and reporting what online audiences do online in the UK, will keep you informed of their progress. It will be interesting to see which ones, if any, will become central to peoples’ lives in the next three years.
Notes on data:
Source: UKOM Ipsos iris Online Audience Measurement Service, February 2023.
Base = all aged 15+ years using PC/laptop, smartphone or tablet device(s)
NB: All data is from Ipsos iris except data from 2020 which is from the previous UKOM supplier. TikTok data is from Feb 2020 and Houseparty is from Mar 2020 – both are based on 18+.
