ChatGPT's user base has doubled in recent weeks, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman estimating up to 800 million people now use the platform weekly.

Speaking at TED 2025, Altman confirmed the surge during an on-stage conversation, acknowledging the figure after being pressed by TED curator Chris Anderson. He suggested the user growth was accelerating rapidly, describing the adoption as covering around 10% of the global population.

The platform's popularity has soared thanks to viral new features, including a March update that introduced Ghibli mode-an image and video generator inspired by the animation style of Studio Ghibli.

Altman noted that this single feature drew in a million users within an hour of launch. When asked about artist compensation, he said OpenAI may eventually offer automatic payments to creators whose styles are used in prompts, though safeguards remain in place to avoid generating copyrighted material.

Other major updates include the rollout of a memory function that allows ChatGPT to remember user interactions indefinitely, making it a more personalised assistant over time. Altman also spoke about the development of autonomous AI agents capable of acting on users' behalf, framed with safety guardrails.

While acknowledging fears of AI replacing human jobs, he encouraged a view of AI as a tool to unlock greater capabilities rather than a threat to livelihoods.