11% surge in ChatGPT downloads as new AI art feature captivates users
Altman posted on X, 'We added one million users in the last hour,' a stark contrast to the five days it took to reach that milestone at ChatGPT's launch.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached an all‐time high with over 150 million weekly active users, marking a 5 percent increase from the previous week. The milestone followed a surge in demand for the platform’s new image‐generation tool that allowed users to create art in a style reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. The GPT‐4o model update unlocked image‐generation capabilities that spurred creativity around the world.
"We added one million users in the last hour," said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. He noted that it took five days to reach a similar number during ChatGPT’s initial launch. "Working as fast we can to really get stuff humming; if anyone has GPU capacity in 100k chunks we can get asap please call," Altman added.
The trend for generating Studio Ghibli–style AI art drove users to share images on social media that imitated the hand‐drawn style of Studio Ghibli, known for films such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Global app downloads increased by 11 percent while in‐app subscription revenue rose by 6 percent compared to the previous week.
The surge in demand pushed the platform’s infrastructure to its limits. Heavy use of the image‐generation feature led to server strain, intermittent service disruptions, occasional glitches, and temporary limitations on the feature. "We are getting things under control, but you should expect new releases from OpenAI to be delayed, stuff to break, and for service to sometimes be slow as we deal with capacity challenges," said Greg Brockman, co‐founder of OpenAI.
The creative output using the AI tool sparked a debate over copyright and artistic integrity. Its use to produce images that imitated Studio Ghibli’s style raised questions about potential copyright infringements, as legal experts pointed out that copyright law protected specific expressions rather than general artistic styles. "The legal landscape of AI‐generated images that imitate Studio Ghibli's distinctive style remains uncertain. Copyright law generally protects specific expressions rather than artistic styles themselves," said Evan Brown, partner at Neal & McDevitt.
"I am utterly disgusted," said Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli co‐founder, after viewing an early render of an AI‐generated image. He added, "I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all."
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.