Study reveals ChatGPT US user demographic profile: young, affluent, well-educated

A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 58 percent of U.S. adults are familiar with ChatGPT, and those who are young, affluent and well-educated are more knowledgeable about it, according to a May 25 news release.

According to the survey, high-income individuals with graduate degrees are more familiar with ChatGPT, but only 14 percent of all adults surveyed said they had used ChatGPT for work, play or learning something new.

The Pew Research Center survey, conducted in mid-March among more than 10,000 U.S. adults, found that about 58 percent of U.S. adults are familiar with ChatGPT, and that the more formal education a person has received, the more likely they are to know about ChatGPT.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents with a graduate degree had heard "a lot" about ChatGPT or at least heard of it; however, among those with a college degree, that percentage dropped to 71 percent; among those with only some higher education, the percentage was even lower at 59 percent; and among those with a high school degree, only 41 percent were familiar with ChatGPT. Among respondents with a high school degree, only 41% said they were familiar with ChatGPT.

Among respondents from higher-income households, 76 percent said they were familiar with ChatGPT; among respondents from middle-income households, knowledge of ChatGPT dropped to 60 percent; by comparison, only 45 percent of respondents from lower-income households were aware of ChatGPT.

The survey showed that about 19% of respondents who had heard of ChatGPT said they use the tool for entertainment purposes. Another 14 percent said they use ChatGPT to learn new things. Only about 12 percent used ChatGPT to complete work tasks.

In addition, the survey found that people from low-income households were more likely to use ChatGPT across the board, with about 20 percent of respondents from low-income households using ChatGPT to complete work tasks, compared to 11 percent of respondents from middle- and upper-income households.

The survey also shows that, overall, just over a third of respondents who use ChatGPT find the tool "extremely" useful or "very" useful. Another 39% of respondents found ChatGPT only somewhat useful.

Of those under 50 who use ChatGPT, about 38% find it "extremely" or "very" useful. However, only about a quarter of respondents over the age of 50 felt the same way.