Boomers Want Recipes, Gen-Z Wants Therapy: How Each Generation Use ChatGPT For Totally Different Stuff
In the end, it’s the same technology — but five entirely different relationships.
YuriArcurs | Canva ChatGPT is not just a chatbot. For some, it’s a study buddy. For others, it’s a life coach, a co-worker, or even a therapist.
When OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, remarked that different age groups use ChatGPT in completely different ways, it wasn’t just a throwaway observation — it was a mirror held up to our digital selves. And now, the data backs him up.
How each generation uses ChatGPT for totally different stuff:
1. Teens (13–17): The curious tinkerers
A 2024 Pew study shows over 1 in 4 teens use ChatGPT for schoolwork, up from just 13% the year before. But it’s not just homework. They’re using it to write songs, generate podcast scripts, and yes, sometimes to finish that overdue book report.
Why? Because they grew up knowing that “ask Google” was normal. ChatGPT just feels like the next evolution — but smarter, funnier, and always available.
2. Young Adults (18–24): The life hackers
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This group treats ChatGPT like a personal OS. Whether it’s prepping for job interviews, debugging Python, or writing apology texts to exes, this age range is leaning in hard, with over a third of them using the tool regularly.
They don’t see it as cheating. They see it as scaling.
3. Millennials (25–34): The side-hustling strategists
This is ChatGPT’s biggest user group — nearly 1 in 3 fall into this bracket. They’re using it to build businesses, write SEO blogs, craft parenting guides, and brainstorm TikTok hooks.
Why? They’re the burned-out sandwich generation. They want to save time, reduce mental load, and stay competitive — and ChatGPT fits perfectly into that.
4. Gen-X (35–54): The practical operators
While they’re not the most vocal users, Gen-X still makes up almost 32% of ChatGPT’s user base. Their use is pragmatic: streamlining reports, planning family vacations, decoding corporate emails.
They tend to keep it transactional. They don’t need ChatGPT to be fun. Just useful.
5. Boomers (55+): The cautious explorers
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Only 13% of users are over 55, and just 5% are over 65. But that’s changing. More older adults are discovering the magic of AI, from rewriting resumes to simplifying health insurance documents.
Their interactions are slower, more intentional. But often, more appreciative.
So what does this say about us? ChatGPT isn’t just a tool — it’s a Rorschach test. Each generation projects its needs, anxieties, and aspirations onto it.
Teens seek expression. Young adults crave clarity. Millennials want leverage. Gen-X needs efficiency. Boomers desire confidence.
In the end, it’s the same technology, but five entirely different relationships.
Akib Jabed is an experimental physicist and PhD researcher exploring the frontiers of quantum science and emerging technologies. His research investigates the ultrafast dynamics of quantum materials using state-of-the-art ultrafast spectroscopy.
