How People Actually Use Chatgpt Vs Claude - And What The Differences Tell Us

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Most ChatGPT usage is non-work, focused connected penning tasks.
• Claude is utilized much for automation, particularly coding.
• AI take is uneven, pinch wealthier regions benefiting first.

Two of nan biggest AI companies person revealed really group really usage their models.

Also: The champion AI chatbots of 2025: ChatGPT, Copilot, and notable alternatives

OpenAI released a investigation insubstantial analyzing millions of ChatGPT conversations, while Anthropic published its 3rd Economic Index study connected Claude usage. Both person plentifulness of charts and stats, but besides a fewer absorbing specifications astir who's utilizing AI and why. Together, they supply a fascinating look astatine really AI is creeping into our work, school, and mundane life.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's genitor company, revenge an April 2025 suit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights successful training and operating its AI systems.)

Most ChatGPT chats are for asking astir non-work worldly

OpenAI's caller study, How People Use ChatGPT, analyzed a random sample of conversations from May 2024 to June 2025. The first surprise: Non-work usage has overtaken activity use. In June 2024, astir 47% of ChatGPT messages were work-related, but by June 2025, that dropped to conscionable 27% -- moreover arsenic regular connection measurement grew from astir 451 cardinal to 2.6 cardinal complete nan aforesaid period.

The apical 3 categories of usage now? Practical guidance (which includes tutoring, teaching, and how-tos), seeking information (about people, existent events, products, recipes, etc.), and writing (emails, documents, and different communications). These collectively relationship for "nearly 80% of each conversations," according to OpenAI's research. Coding is conscionable 4.2% of usage.

Also: The champion AI for coding (including a caller victor - and what not to use)

So, while nan world (and your boss) whitethorn person imagined astir group utilizing ChatGPT to fly done their tedious activity tasks aliases for computer programming, nan mostly are really turning to it for help, advice, learning, and writing.

OpenAI's researchers grouped personification interactions into 3 buckets: Asking (seeking accusation aliases guidance), Doing (producing outputs aliases completing tasks), and Expressing (sharing opinions aliases feelings). They estimate that astir 49% of messages are Asking, 40% are Doing, and 11% are Expressing. As of July 2025, 56% of work-related messages were successful nan Doing category.

Also: Is ChatGPT Plus still worthy $20 erstwhile nan free type offers truthful overmuch - including GPT-5?

In fact, erstwhile ChatGPT is utilized astatine work, complete 40% of that usage is for penning -- and much than two-thirds of that is editing matter group wrote themselves. So erstwhile group move to ChatGPT connected nan job, it's much for proofreading than for afloat generating matter from scratch.

Most Claude chats are automation directives (for coding)

Anthropic's Economic Index looks astatine really Claude is utilized by some consumers and companies. The study divides tasks into 2 categories: Automation (where Claude completes activity pinch small input -- either directive, pinch minimal interaction, aliases feedback loops, wherever users relay outcomes), and Augmentation (where humans and AI activity together done learning, iteration, and validation).

The study analyzed randomly sampled transcripts and recovered that directive conversations -- wherever a personification asks Claude to complete a task pinch minimal relationship -- roseate sharply from 27% (in December 2024 to January 2025) to 39% (February to March 2025).

Also: The activity tasks group usage Claude AI for most, according to Anthropic

Since past December, group look to beryllium delegating full tasks to Claude pinch small back-and-forth -- telling it to do thing and trusting nan output. For nan first time, Anthropic reports "automation (49.1%) has go much communal than augmentation (47%)." It says this could beryllium owed to "AI winning users' confidence, and becoming progressively responsible for completing blase work."

In endeavor settings, specifically, automation is common. Anthropic says 77% of its API customer conversations person "automation patterns," pinch nan "vast majority" being directive. So, while astir half of mundane users usage Claude.ai to complete activity pinch minimal interaction, businesses are relying connected Claude moreover much to put tasks connected autopilot -- particularly coding.

Anthropic said astir 44% of API postulation is related to coding (computer and mathematical tasks), compared to 36% connected Claude.ai. It said Claude.ai usage is higher for acquisition and penning tasks.

Who is utilizing AI and where?

OpenAI's researchers and Anthropic look astatine maturation and AI take successful their reports.

ChatGPT usage is booming worldwide, pinch 700 cardinal play users arsenic of July 2025. Over nan past year, maturation has been comparatively faster successful low- and middle-income countries, nan study notes. While astir 80% of early ChatGPT users were men, that stock has since dropped to 48% (as of June 2025), pinch much progressive users now having "typically feminine" first names.

The personification guidelines besides skews young, pinch astir half of each messages from adults coming from group nether nan property of 26. Researchers besides said knowledgeable users and highly paid professionals are "substantially more" apt to usage ChatGPT for work.

Also: The 1 measurement millennials hit Gen Z successful AI adoption

As for Claude usage, Anthropic said nan US accounts for nan highest stock (21.6%). However, Israel leads erstwhile it comes to "global per capita Claude usage." The federation has an "AI Usage Index" (AUI) people of 7, which intends group successful Israel usage Claude astir 7 times much often than you'd expect based connected nan size of nan country's working-age population.

In nan US, California is nan starring authorities successful position of usage, making up 25.3% of each Claude activity, mostly for IT-related tasks. But erstwhile you set for organization size, nan per-capita-usage leader becomes Washington, DC, pinch an AUI people of 3.82. People location apparently usage Claude astir 4 times much often than their stock of nan US working-age organization would suggest. 

And conscionable why are DC folks utilizing Claude truthful much? "Document editing, accusation provision, and occupation applications," Anthropic says.

Also: Most developers usage AI successful their regular workflows - but they don't spot it, study finds

Raising concerns astir inequality, Anthropic warned that uneven AI take could reflector nan history of energy and nan internet, wherever able countries pulled up of processing ones. The study noted a "1% higher GDP per capita was associated pinch a 0.7% higher Anthropic AI Usage Index," suggesting richer regions whitethorn already beryllium capturing astir of nan early productivity gains.

"People successful higher-income countries are much apt to usage Claude, much apt to activity collaboration alternatively than automation, and much apt to prosecute a breadth of uses beyond coding," Anthropic says. Countries pinch little AI take per capita ore overwhelmingly connected coding tasks, excessively -- pinch complete half of each usage successful India, compared to astir a 3rd globally. 

Common themes

Both OpenAI's and Anthropic's reports look astatine really group interact pinch AI: asking versus doing. 

For example, Anthropic focused connected whether Claude was utilized for automation aliases augmentation and recovered that users for illustration automation and giving directives pinch small input, alternatively than collaborating pinch nan model. OpenAI, meanwhile, collapsed personification interactions into asking, doing, aliases expressing categories, and recovered that users thin to usage it for asking.

Also: The fastest increasing AI chatbot lately? It's not ChatGPT aliases Gemini

Both studies besides looked astatine nan kinds of tasks group usage AI for, specified arsenic penning aliases coding. 

While ChatGPT and Claude are still utilized for writing, ChatGPT users often inquire nan AI to edit non-work-related matter they wrote themselves. Claude, meanwhile, is utilized much for automation, particularly coding, pinch businesses directing it to complete tasks.

Add it each up, and you get an absorbing snapshot of AI truthful acold and really it differs betwixt competitors.