> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://aiadoption.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Generative AI reached 53% adoption in the US three years after ChatGPT; the PC had 20% at that point
- URL: https://aiadoption.org/data/genai-adoption-vs-pc-and-internet/
- Published: 2026-10-19T16:14:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T06:01:50.000Z
- Description: Three years after ChatGPT's release, 53% of US adults aged 18–64 used generative AI, against 20% for the personal computer and 30% for the internet at the same point.
- Author: Manu
- Tags: Data, AI Adoption, Generative AI, AI in the US, #chart, #ai-index-2026, #hub-adoption, #country-us, #topic-generative-ai

53%

of US adults aged 18–64 used generative AI three years after ChatGPT's release (personal computer at three years: 20%)

Adoption three years after launch

Generative AI52.6%

Internet (ITU)30.1%

Personal computer19.7%

## What the chart shows

Measured from each technology’s first mass-market product, generative AI reached 53% adoption among US adults aged 18 to 64 three years after ChatGPT’s release in 2022, up from 46% a year earlier. Three years after the IBM PC, 20% used a personal computer; three years after the internet opened to commercial traffic in 1995, ITU estimates put use at 30%.

The older technologies kept rising: personal computer use reached 69% after 22 years, and internet use 76% after 14 years (CPS) and 91% after 25 years (ITU). Generative AI has only two data points, so its later path is unknown.

## Key numbers

| Measure                    | Value |
| -------------------------- | ----- |
| Generative AI, year 3      | 52.6% |
| Generative AI, year 2      | 45.5% |
| Personal computer, year 3  | 19.7% |
| Internet (ITU), year 3     | 30.1% |
| Personal computer, year 22 | 69.3% |
| Internet (ITU), year 25    | 90.6% |

## How to read it

- Year 0 is 2022 for generative AI (ChatGPT), 1981 for computers (IBM PC) and 1995 for the internet (when NSFNet was decommissioned), as set by the source.
- Generative AI comes from the Real-Time Population Survey; computers and the CPS internet series from the Current Population Survey’s computer and internet supplements, all for adults aged 18–64\. The ITU series covers people of all ages.
- Surveys were not run every year, so points are uneven; the lines join the years with data.

**Source:** [The Project on Workforce at Harvard](https://aiadoption.org/sources/#harvard-genai-adoption-tracker), 2025, via the AI Index Report 2026 (Stanford HAI), figure 4.3.9: *Speed of AI adoption by technology*. Chart and text by AI Adoption.  
Numbers checked against the published data on 20 October 2026.  
[Download the data (CSV)](https://charts.aiadoption.org/ai-index/csv/genai-adoption-vs-pc-and-internet.csv?ref=aiadoption.org) · [Cite this chart](#source)