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OpenAI forecasts 220 million paid users by 2030

OpenAI forecasts 220 million paid users by 2030

OpenAI could reach 220 million paying ChatGPT users by 2030. The projection, reported by The Information, signals the company’s shift from early adoption to mass-scale monetisation, positioning its generative AI tools among the world’s largest paid digital services.

OpenAI could reach 220 million paying ChatGPT users by 2030. The Information reports the forecast as part of an internal projection shared with investors, underscoring the company’s ambition to expand its generative AI tools into a global paid utility.

The figure would represent an exponential increase from current estimates of around 6 to 7 million paying subscribers to ChatGPT Plus, OpenAI’s £20-per-month premium plan launched in early 2023. The growth trajectory suggests a shift from early adoption to mass-market scaling, positioning OpenAI among the world’s largest consumer subscription platforms.

According to The Information, OpenAI expects most of its paying users to come from a combination of personal and enterprise accounts. The company’s paid products now include ChatGPT Plus for individuals and custom enterprise deployments for businesses, alongside a developer API used across industries from finance to education.

OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the projection. However, the company has repeatedly emphasised the commercial potential of its ChatGPT ecosystem. In March, Chief Executive Sam Altman said OpenAI’s goal was to “build useful, everyday intelligence tools for everyone,” describing 2025 as “a year of product maturity” for the business.

At its current pace, OpenAI’s revenue is expected to exceed $3.4 billion this year, driven largely by ChatGPT subscriptions and corporate partnerships. If growth follows the reported trajectory, a 220 million paying user base would likely generate recurring revenue in line with the largest global digital platforms. For comparison, Netflix currently reports about 270 million paying members, while Spotify stands at 246 million.

The forecast highlights how rapidly generative AI is shifting from a technical innovation to a consumer-grade product category. OpenAI’s rivals — including Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Mistral, and Elon Musk’s xAI — are competing to attract both individual users and enterprise contracts, often with differentiated pricing models or domain-specific tools.

Analysts say the projection reinforces a broader trend: the monetisation of AI now resembles established software-as-a-service economics. Subscription pricing, usage tiers, and integrated workplace tools are becoming the standard pathways to scale. Yet, the challenge remains in maintaining user retention once the novelty of AI chat interfaces stabilises into routine utility.

OpenAI continues to expand its enterprise offering through Microsoft partnerships and its ChatGPT Team and Enterprise products. The company is also investing heavily in infrastructure and data partnerships, supported by Microsoft’s Azure platform, to accommodate higher usage volumes.

While the 2030 target is ambitious, its disclosure points to increasing confidence within OpenAI that paid AI assistants will become a fixture of everyday business and personal productivity. Whether adoption reaches that level will depend on sustained performance improvements and the degree to which AI tools integrate into mainstream workflows.

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BQ

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