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ChatGPT Usage Soars to New Heights Following Launch of Viral “Ghibli Effect” Feature

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The recent rollout of ChatGPT’s image-generation feature, which enables users to create Ghibli-style artwork, has caused a significant surge in the platform’s usage. This viral trend quickly captured the attention of social media users worldwide, pushing OpenAI’s servers to their limits. The excitement surrounding the ability to generate hand-drawn, Studio Ghibli-inspired images sent waves of activity through the platform, leading to temporary restrictions on the feature’s availability as OpenAI worked to manage the flood of requests.

Studio Ghibli, renowned for its enchanting animation style in films like “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro,” has inspired a dedicated global fanbase. This fandom recently found a new outlet through ChatGPT’s AI art generator, allowing them to recreate the iconic look of these films in a digital format. As users eagerly shared their Ghibli-style creations on social media, the trend quickly gained momentum, capturing the imagination of both old fans and newcomers alike.

As a result of this viral activity, ChatGPT saw its weekly active users reach unprecedented levels. For the first time this year, the platform exceeded 150 million active users, according to data from market research firm Similarweb. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman celebrated the growth, noting that the platform added a million users in just one hour, a sharp contrast to the pace of one million new users in five days during ChatGPT’s initial explosive launch two years ago.

This surge in usage had far-reaching effects. In addition to record-breaking user activity, both app downloads and in-app subscription revenue saw significant increases. SensorTower data highlighted a 11 percent jump in global app downloads and a 5 percent rise in weekly active users compared to the previous week. In-app purchase revenue also grew by 6 percent, indicating that the enhanced capabilities of GPT-4o, particularly in the realm of image generation, have sparked even more interest in ChatGPT’s premium offerings.

OpenAI Reportedly Expanding Deep Research AI Agent Access to ChatGPT’s Free Tier

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OpenAI is reportedly planning to extend its Deep Research feature to the free tier of ChatGPT users. Originally launched in February, this feature acts as an autonomous research assistant, capable of conducting in-depth, multi-step research on complex topics by gathering relevant information from the web. Powered by a specialized custom o3 AI model, Deep Research has been available only to paid ChatGPT subscribers. However, there are indications that OpenAI could soon expand access to this advanced tool to all users, including those on the free tier.

Tibor Blaho, a Lead Engineer at AIPRM, recently shared a screenshot from an OpenAI webcast on X (formerly Twitter), where Isa Fullford, a member of OpenAI’s technical team, apparently confirmed that Deep Research could soon be available to free-tier users. While this news has sparked excitement within the AI community, no official timeline has been provided for when this expansion will take place. Despite the potential for wider access, OpenAI has not specified exactly when users on the free tier will be able to access this feature.

However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged that there are challenges on the horizon that could delay such a release. Specifically, the increased server load resulting from the popularity of the new image generation feature is creating capacity issues. As a result, even if Deep Research does come to the free tier, it may not be available immediately and could be subject to certain limitations. Users may have to wait until OpenAI has addressed its server capacity issues before the feature becomes available.

When Deep Research reaches the free tier, it is likely to come with significant restrictions, particularly in terms of usage. The tool, being agentic in nature, requires substantial GPU resources to function effectively, so OpenAI may impose high rate limits to manage its demands. As seen with the ChatGPT Plus tier, which also has rate-limited access to the feature, it’s expected that free-tier users will face constraints, such as a limited number of uses per month. More extensive access to Deep Research may remain a privilege for ChatGPT Pro subscribers, who enjoy more robust usage privileges with the service.

Musk’s xAI Acquires X, Valuing Social Media Platform at $33 Billion

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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, has acquired X (formerly Twitter) in a deal that values the social media platform at $33 billion. This acquisition also boosts the valuation of xAI to $80 billion, with plans to leverage the combined assets, including data, models, and computing resources, to enhance xAI’s chatbot, Grok.

Musk, who also leads Tesla and SpaceX, emphasized the synergy between xAI and X, stating that the futures of both companies are now intertwined. While the specifics of the deal, including leadership integration and potential regulatory scrutiny, remain unclear, it marks a significant consolidation of Musk’s companies under his leadership.

Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a major stakeholder in both X and xAI, welcomed the deal, estimating that the value of his investments would reach between $4 billion and $5 billion. Despite Musk not seeking investor approval beforehand, sources indicate that the deal is viewed as part of Musk’s strategy to consolidate his influence and management at his companies.

xAI, which competes with major players like OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek, has been expanding rapidly, especially in AI infrastructure, with its supercomputer “Colossus” in Memphis touted as the largest in the world. The merger with X could provide xAI with more avenues for distributing its AI products, tapping into a real-time feed of user-generated data.