Publication: Who on Earth Is Using Generative AI? Global Trends and Shifts in 2025
Loading...
Published
2025-10-15
ISSN
Date
2025-10-16
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Nearly three years after ChatGPT’s launch, the generative artificial intelligence landscape remains in rapid flux. Using high-frequency website traffic data from Semrush, this paper tracks global adoption patterns for the 60 most-visited consumer-facing generative artificial intelligence tools through mid-2025. Five key findings emerge. First, fierce competition drives continuous innovation: two of 2025’s top five tools—DeepSeek and Grok—are new entrants, and development is rapidly diversifying into multi-modal capabilities, reasoning, and specialized applications. Second, ChatGPT maintains dominance despite competition, accounting for 77 percent of traffic to the top 60 tools in April 2025. Third, usage of generative artificial intelligence has exploded since mid-2024: ChatGPT traffic grew 113 percent year-over-year, driven by 42 percent user growth and 50 percent increased visits per user, with session duration doubling. Fourth, high-income countries are pulling decisively ahead, creating stark global divides. While 24 percent of internet users in high-income countries use ChatGPT, penetration drops to 5.8 percent in upper-middle-income countries, 4.7 percent in lower-middle-income countries, and just 0.7 percent in low-income countries. Regression analysis confirms that gross domestic product per capita strongly predicts adoption growth. Fifth, localization shapes competitive advantage: non-U.S. tools concentrate heavily in home markets, with Le Chat drawing 69 percent of traffic from Europe and several Chinese tools exceeding 90 percent domestic usage. These patterns reveal an artificial intelligence landscape characterized by intense innovation, persistent market leadership, accelerating growth, and deepening global inequality, underscoring the need for inclusive policies as generative artificial intelligence becomes central to economic participation.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Liu, Yan; Huang, Jingyun; Wang, He. 2025. Who on Earth Is Using Generative AI? Global Trends and Shifts in 2025. Policy Research Working Paper; 11231. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43859 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Who on Earth Is Using Generative AI ?(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-22)Leveraging unconventional data, including website traffic data and Google Trends, this paper unveils the real-time usage patterns of generative artificial intelligence tools by individuals across countries. The paper also examines country-level factors driving the uptake and early impacts of generative artificial intelligence on online activities. As of March 2024, the top 40 generative artificial intelligence tools attract nearly 3 billion visits per month from hundreds of millions of users. ChatGPT alone commanded 82.5 percent of the traffic, yet reaching only one-eightieth of Google’s monthly visits. Generative artificial intelligence users skew young, highly educated, and male, particularly for video generation tools, with usage patterns strongly indicating productivity-related activities. Generative artificial intelligence has achieved unprecedentedly rapid global diffusion, reaching almost all economies worldwide within 16 months of ChatGPT’s release. Middle-income economies have disproportionately high adoption of generative artificial intelligence relative to their economic scale, now contribute more than 50 percent of global traffic, while low-income economies contribute less than 1 percent. Regression analysis reveals that income level, share of youth population, digital infrastructure, specialization in high-skill tradable services, English proficiency, and human capital are strongly correlated with higher uptake of generative artificial intelligence. The paper also documents disruptions in online traffic patterns and emphasizes the need for targeted investments in digital infrastructure and skills development to harness the full potential of artificial intelligence.Publication Labor Demand in the Age of Generative AI: Early Evidence from the U.S. Job Posting Data(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-18)This paper examines the causal impact of generative artificial intelligence on U.S. labor demand using online job posting data. Exploiting ChatGPT’s release in November 2022 as an exogenous shock, the paper applies difference-in-differences and event study designs to estimate the job displacement effects of generative artificial intelligence. The identification strategy compares labor demand for occupations with high versus low artificial intelligence substitution vulnerability following ChatGPT’s launch, conditioning on similar generative artificial intelligence exposure levels to isolate substitution effects from complementary uses. The analysis uses 285 million job postings collected by Lightcast from the first quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2025Q2. The findings show that the number of postings for occupations with above-median artificial intelligence substitution scores fell by an average of 12 percent relative to those with below-median scores. The effect increased from 6 percent in the first year after the launch to 18 percent by the third year. Losses were particularly acute for entry-level positions that require neither advanced degrees (18 percent) nor extensive experience (20 percent), as well as those in administrative support (40 percent) and professional services (30 percent). Although generative artificial intelligence generates new occupations and enhances productivity, which may increase labor demand, early evidence suggests that some occupations may be less likely to be complemented by generative artificial intelligence than others.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication The Role of Social Media and User-Generated Content in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-06)There is a growing body of practice and literature on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in preventing and responding to violence. There is also a lot of excitement and corresponding literature about the role of the internet in non-violent change and democratization. The use of mobile phones, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and user-generated content (UGC) like blogs and YouTube videos in the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as throughout the wider middle-east and North Africa (MENA) region have shown how ICTs can complement and augment the exercise of rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of peaceful assembly. This literature focuses on the use of ICTs before and during conflict, for example in conflict prevention and early warning. What about the use of ICTs in post-conflict situations; after the negotiation of peace agreements? How can ICTs be used in post-conflict interventions; more specifically in post-conflict peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction and recovery? What role of can be played here by social media and user-generated content?Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: Strengthening AI Foundations(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-24)The recent rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has outpaced society’s ability to fully grasp its implications. Unlike technological shifts that have unfolded over decades, AI’s integration is accelerating at an unprecedented speed and scale. Along with AI’s immense opportunities come new responsibilities—especially for ethical deployment, accountability, and alignment with human values—that have few precedents in previous technology revolutions. This 2025 edition of the "Digital Progress and Trends Report (DPTR)" explores how low- and middle-income countries can harness AI to drive inclusive and sustainable development—and avoid being left behind. The report explains what makes AI different from earlier general-purpose technologies and why it matters for development. It introduces the 4Cs, the foundations essential for AI adoption, adaptation, and innovation: connectivity (infrastructure), compute (processing power), context (training data, algorithms, and applications), and competency (digital skills). Drawing on rich, novel data sets, this DPTR benchmarks countries across the 4Cs, analyzes supply and demand dynamics, and identifies market failures and externalities where policy action is urgently needed. This report emphasizes the need for global coordination and targeted interventions to close the widening AI gaps, where resource constraints threaten to exacerbate inequality. Policy insights will help governments unlock AI’s potential while navigating its risks.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Port Reform Toolkit(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-31)Ports are undergoing constant transformation, induced by changes in the global economy, technology, or the environment. Port reform is influenced by factors that include aspirations for change underpinned by complex internal and external drivers. In a sector where public and private interests must work together, closely managing change is important. Having the right tools is key for a successful port reform and improvement process which enables economic growth, creates jobs, and fosters sustainable development. For over two decades, the Port Reform Toolkit has been one of the most comprehensive guides for implementing port reforms. Along the way, the Toolkit has evolved in response to changing sectoral trends. The first edition, published in 2001, established a common language for policymakers and port industry stakeholders. It has since become the established reference for port privatization, labor, and modernization programs. Further experiences from a first wave of port reforms in Latin America, Africa, and Asia in the 1990s and early 2000s informed the second edition of the Toolkit, which was released in 2007. By that time, ports in developing economies had attracted over 21 billion dollars in investments from over 200 public-private partnership projects. In this context, the Port Reform Toolkit enabled port stakeholders to provide strategic advice to governments and the private sector.Publication Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem Accounts and Policy Recommendations: A Regional Synthesis Report of Ecosystem Extent, Condition, Services, and Asset Accounts 2000-2020(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-01)This regional synthesis report of the Congo Basin Forest Ecosystem Accounts (2000-2020) compiled from data for each these six countries (namely: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo. Ecosystem accounting enables countries to assess the value of their ecological capital, a key component of national wealth, by monitoring changes in ecosystem extent, condition, and ecosystem services in both physical and monetary terms. The accounts follow the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) Ecosystem Accounting methods, a standardized framework that uses concepts, definitions, and classifications consistent with the System of National Accounts (SNA). The individual country reports are also available. The value of domestic benefits provided by the forest ecosystems is significant, ranging from one percent of GDP for Equatorial Guinea to 15.4 percent of GDP for the Central African Republic. With global climate regulation being especially important, reflecting more than 95 percent of the value in most countries. Forest ecosystems in the Congo Basin retained around 90.9 billion tons of carbon in 2020, equivalent to 333.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which is 10x the amount of the total global emissions from the energy sector in 2020 (34.5 billion tons). The total asset value of the Congo Basin’s forests has almost doubled from US$ 12.3 trillion in 2000 to US$ 23.2 trillion in 2020. The overall asset value without the global public good value of climate change regulation stood at US$ 106 billion in 2000 and US$ 154 billion in 2020. While the total asset values are increasing, the per capita values are not keeping up with population growth. If one excludes the global public good value of carbon the picture becomes more negative, with a decrease in per capita of forests across all countries. These accounts should be institutionalized and enhanced periodically to inform policy and planning. The Congo Basin forests offer substantial ecological benefits, many of which remain unmonetized. These forest ecosystem accounts can improve understanding and inform policy development relating to the natural resource management sectors and those that impact on these assets, and on monetization of these critical ecosystem services.Publication Uganda Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-10)The Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for Uganda examines the interplay between climate change and development. It presents how addressing climate change can support achieving the goals in Uganda’s Vision 2040 and Ten-Fold Growth Strategy, and help propel the country to upper-middle-income status. Uganda is the 14th most vulnerable nation to climate change, yet it is 163rd in readiness to address these risks, facing threats such as droughts and floods. The report highlights that, of the poorest households exposed to climate change, 80 percent already experience income loss from climate shocks. GDP could also drop by up to 3.1 percent by 2050 without additional climate action. Climate change poses numerous challenges, including increased variability in crop yields, potential internal climate migration of 12 million people by 2050, notable drop in labor productivity due to heat stress, increased health risks from waterborne diseases and malaria, and exposure of the country’s physical infrastructure to extreme climate events. To combat these challenges, the report recommends transitioning to a low-carbon, climate-resilient growth path by implementing four multisectoral intervention packages. These include boosting resilience through jobs for youth and services for the poor; promoting resilient and productive agriculture and natural resources with lower GHG emissions; developing climate-responsive energy, transport, and digital infrastructure; and fostering planned and climate-positive urbanization. Additionally, the report calls for whole-of-economy measures that strengthen governance of climate action, enhance preparedness for climate hazards including through improved early warning systems, operationalization of the national climate finance strategy, and incentivizing private sector participation. By implementing these intervention packages and whole-of-economy measures, Uganda can lower its risk to climate change and achieve sustainable economic growth.Publication Reboot Development: The Economics of a Livable Planet(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-01)“Reboot Development: The Economics of a Livable Planet” explores how the foundational natural endowments of land, air, and water—long taken for granted—are under growing threat, putting at risk the very progress they helped create. For generations, natural resources have powered development, supporting health, food, energy, and economic opportunity. Today, strains on these resources are intensifying. This report argues that failing to maintain a livable planet is not merely a distant environmental concern, but a present economic threat. Drawing on new data, the report shows that over 90 percent of the world is exposed to poor air quality, degraded land, or water stress. Loss of forests cuts rainfall, dries soils, and worsens droughts, costing billions of dollars. The nitrogen paradox emerges—fertilizers boost yields but overuse in some regions harms crops and ecosystems. Meanwhile, air and water pollution silently damage health, productivity, and cognition, sapping human potential. The report warns that these hidden costs are too large to ignore. Yet the message is not one of constraint but of possibility. Nature, when wisely stewarded, can drive growth, create jobs, and build resilience. The report shows that more efficient resource use—like better nitrogen management and forest restoration—yields benefits that far exceed the costs. It also urges a shift to cleaner sectors and producing “better things,” noting that these provide new sources of growth, creating more jobs per dollar invested. The findings are clear: Investing in nature is not only good for the planet, it is smart development.Publication Keys to Energy-Efficient Shipping(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-21)This report quantifies the extent to which energy efficiency measures can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel costs in global shipping. Drawing on a fleet-wide analysis across key vessel segments (bulk carriers, container ships, and tankers), it assesses the untapped potential of technical and operational efficiency measures through to 2050. Findings show that maximizing energy efficiency can cut global shipping’s GHG emissions by up to about 40% by 2030, exceeding current IMO interim targets, while simultaneously lowering the costs of the energy transition. Roughly half of these potential GHG savings by 2030 pay for themselves, offering savings of up to $220 billion annually in total costs as green fuel supply chains develop, and helping to build resiliency against fuel price volatility and rerouting shocks. The report highlights the role of short-term operational measures (such as forms of port call and speed optimization) and medium-term technical innovations (for example, wind-assisted propulsion) in achieving substantial efficiency gains. It identifies persistent economic, behavioral, and organizational barriers to uptake and illustrates them through deep dives on port call optimization and wind-assisted propulsion, showcasing innovative industry initiatives being applied to overcome these barriers. Finally, the report offers targeted recommendations for policymakers, industry, ports, and financiers to accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency solutions at scale.