How People Really Use AI

I’ve been trying to plan the overarching topic of each week’s newsletter in advance so I can focus on what content I’m gathering. (👀 Look for coding stories next week.) Imagine my surprise when both Anthropic and OpenAI dropped reports on how people are really using their LLMs last Monday.

Of course, I didn’t stumble across those reports until Thursday after I already had half this newsletter written. But honestly, who can keep up with the pace this stuff is coming out? (That’s why you’ve got this newsletter 😉.)

📔 The Reports 
OpenAI and Anthropic
Anthropic’s report points out that software development is the most common use of Claude across all countries, and it’s even higher among API users compared to chat. OpenAI’s data shows 49% of people use ChatGPT in the “Asking” pattern, treating it like an advisor, with “Doing” close behind at 40%.

🔑 Get the key takeaways straight from OpenAI and Anthropic, plus a slick interactive site for Anthropic’s data.

🤿 Want to go deeper? Check the full OpenAI paper and the Anthropic Economic Index Report.

🎥 Video
How People Actually Use ChatGPT
The AI Daily Brief 
If you don’t have time to read through both reports, this quick breakdown from The AI Daily Brief is a great listen before diving into the full thing.

📰 Article
The Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps 
a16z
Andreessen Horowitz recently released their breakdown of the top 100 Gen AI consumer apps. It’s interesting to see what’s new on the list, what’s entrenched at the top, and how vibe coding apps are showing up. Check the domains these apps live on too since traffic bumps mean more people are actually using the output. (Lovable and Replit stand out here.) And staples like Supabase, part of the “vibe coding stack,” are seeing a boost as well.

📰 Article
These 40 Jobs May Be Replaced by AI. These 40 Probably Won’t
Inc. 
Another AI report, this time from Microsoft. It highlights 40 jobs with a high likelihood of being replaced by AI and 40 jobs that probably won’t. Spoiler: it’s not a great time to be a translator (even Apple has live translation now). But if you’re into phlebotomy, things are looking solid. Microsoft’s methodology used usage data to measure how much generative AI is actually being used in different roles day to day.

📰 Article
Expanding economic opportunity with AI
OpenAI 
OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, argues that AI will not just replace jobs but create roles we have not imagined yet. She acknowledges the disruption ahead and explains how OpenAI plans to help people benefit through OpenAI Academy and new certifications designed to upskill workers for an AI powered future. OpenAI also released their Jobs in the Intelligence Age report.

Thanks for reading, Jason