ChatGPTOpenAI’s popular artificial intelligence chatbot set an unprecedented record by reaching 100 million active users in January, just two months after the app debuted online.

This made ChatGPT the fastest growing online application in history, according to a UBS study released today.

The report, which cites data from analytics firm Similar Web, says that around 13 million unique visitors used ChatGPT daily in January, more than double the number in December.

“In the 20 years we’ve been watching the web space, we can’t recall a faster pace” in the online app, UBS analysts wrote in a note.

OpenAI, a privately held company in which Microsoft is now investing billions, launched ChatGPT at the end of November, and interest in it has been unprecedented ever since.

A telling indicator of the comparison is that TikTok, hugely popular among young users, took about nine months after its international debut to reach 100 million users. According to Sensor Tower data cited by Reuters, Instagram reached the same milestone at an even slower pace, within 24 to 30 months.

ChatGPT is currently free to use.

Subscription package

Last Thursday, OpenAI also introduced a subscription, a more stable and faster ChatGPT service that costs $20 per month and allows users to first test the new capabilities of the artificial intelligence system.

Analysts believe the rapid adoption of ChatGPT will give OpenAI an edge over competing AI companies. Its widespread use by millions of people can cost a company, but at the same time, it provides valuable feedback that helps train a chatbot.

The thoroughness of ChatGPT’s responses has sparked an international wave of concern about the possible phenomena of copying and plagiarism in the academic world. Yesterday, OpenAI released a new tool designed to determine if any text was written by an AI system. However, the lab warns that the software is not completely reliable at the moment.