Age is a major dividing line in reported ChatGPT adoption in the United States. In Pew Research Center's 2025 snapshot, 58% of adults aged 18 to 29 said they had ever used ChatGPT, compared with 41% of those aged 30 to 49, 25% of adults aged 50 to 64, and 10% of those 65 and older. The overall figure was 34%.
The result matters because an overall adoption statistic can obscure very different levels of familiarity within a workforce or customer base. Businesses planning AI-enabled processes should not assume that employees or customers begin with the same experience of conversational AI. The relevant question is not whether a national usage figure is rising, but where familiarity is concentrated and where practical support may be needed.
Pew's chart on ChatGPT use by age documents the 2023 through 2025 trend and shows that use rose across every age group. It also shows that the gap between younger and older adults remained substantial as adoption expanded.
The age gap is persistent, even as use grows
Pew's figures show broad growth from 2023 to 2025, rather than growth limited to younger adults. But the starting points and adoption levels differ sharply. In 2025, adults aged 18 to 29 were nearly six times as likely as adults 65 and older to report ever having used ChatGPT.
| Age group | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 29 | 33% | 43% | 58% |
| 30 to 49 | 21% | 27% | 41% |
| 50 to 64 | 13% | 17% | 25% |
| 65 and older | 4% | 6% | 10% |
| All adults | 18% | 23% | 34% |
The measure is important to interpret correctly. It captures whether respondents had ever used ChatGPT, not how frequently they use it, how skilled they are at prompting, whether they use it at work, or whether they trust its output. Age is therefore a useful signal for planning, but it is not a substitute for asking people about their actual needs, confidence and tasks.
Pew's more recent 2026 materials expanded the scope to ask about other chatbots as well. Adoption levels were higher across age groups under that broader framing, so businesses should avoid treating those figures as a direct continuation of the earlier ChatGPT-only measure. Pew also notes the evolving question wording in its comparisons.
What the data changes for AI rollout planning
The practical lesson is to design adoption around role, task and prior experience, while using demographic patterns as a prompt to investigate rather than a reason to make assumptions about individuals. A team with mixed experience may need more than access to a tool. It may need clear examples, time to practise and agreed boundaries for reviewing AI-generated work.
A more useful rollout can include:
- task-specific demonstrations, such as drafting a customer reply, summarizing notes or preparing a first version of marketing copy
- optional beginner training for people who have not used conversational AI before
- simple guidance on what information should not be entered into a public AI tool
- human review steps for customer-facing, financial, legal or otherwise consequential output
- feedback from employees on where the tool saves time and where it creates extra work
This approach avoids two common errors. The first is assuming younger employees automatically know how to apply ChatGPT reliably in a business context. The second is treating older employees as unable or unwilling to use it. Pew's data measures reported exposure, not capability or potential.
Customer demographics should shape outreach too
The same pattern can matter outside the organization. A company selling to a customer base that skews older should be cautious about assuming that AI chat interfaces, self-service assistants or AI-oriented marketing messages will be immediately familiar. Clear conventional paths to support and information remain important.
Conversely, a business whose audience is concentrated among younger adults may find greater baseline recognition of ChatGPT and related tools. That can inform testing of content formats, product education or customer support journeys. It does not establish that any particular audience will prefer an AI interaction. Customer research, conversion data and support feedback remain the evidence for that decision.
For marketing teams, the 34% overall figure is best treated as a broad national benchmark, not a ready-made audience profile. Segmenting by customer age, digital behavior and the task a customer is trying to complete will usually produce a more useful plan than designing around a single adoption percentage.
If demographic differences are making your AI plans harder to prioritize, Scalevise can help turn broad interest into practical workflows, training priorities and measurable use cases. Our AI consultancy service helps businesses evaluate where AI fits existing processes, identify tasks worth testing and build an adoption plan that does not depend on assumptions about employee or customer familiarity. Request an AI consultation to map the most useful next steps for your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of US adults had ever used ChatGPT in 2025?
Pew Research Center reported that 34% of US adults had ever used ChatGPT in its 2025 snapshot.
Which age group was most likely to have used ChatGPT?
Adults aged 18 to 29 were most likely to report ever using ChatGPT, at 58% in Pew's 2025 data.
How many adults aged 65 and older had used ChatGPT?
In the 2025 Pew snapshot, 10% of adults aged 65 and older said they had ever used ChatGPT.
Does reported ChatGPT use show workplace skill or regular use?
No. The measure indicates whether someone had ever used ChatGPT. It does not measure frequency, workplace use, proficiency or trust in AI output.
Conclusion
Pew's data shows that ChatGPT adoption increased across every age group from 2023 to 2025, while a pronounced age gap remained. For businesses, the useful response is not to stereotype employees or customers. It is to validate familiarity in the relevant audience, provide practical support where needed and judge AI initiatives by the tasks and outcomes they improve.
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