As of July 2025, ChatGPT had amassed some 700 million users worldwide, and this week, we got a comprehensive look into how people are actually using it. (One example: In June 2024, 20% more of the ChatGPT conversations were related to work tasks.) More users are also starting to use ChatGPT like Google: as a search engine to look up facts and information. Maybe you listened to this episode of The Daily last week about people who get trapped in a ChatGPT spiral. A 16-year-old boy in southern California confided in ChatGPT as if it was his best friend, before he died by suicide.