53%
of US adults aged 18–64 used generative AI three years after ChatGPT's release (personal computer at three years: 20%)

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

MeasureValue
Generative AI, year 352.6%
Generative AI, year 245.5%
Personal computer, year 319.7%
Internet (ITU), year 330.1%
Personal computer, year 2269.3%
Internet (ITU), year 2590.6%

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, 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.
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