OpenAI Data Shows Info-Seeking Questions Closing In on Writing

OpenAI released version 3.0 of its Signals dataset, which analyzes ChatGPT usage patterns, on October 26, drawing on a monthly sample of one million conversations classified by topic, Search Engine Journal reported on October 27. The sample is limited to accounts with a declared age of 18 or older and includes Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, excluding Enterprise and Codex.

The data shows information-seeking questions reached 20.7% in August, nearly matching writing requests at 20.6%, the closest the two categories have come. In September, writing moved back ahead to 21.4% while information-seeking fell to 20.2%, flipping the ranking again. OpenAI noted that each new version revises prior months' figures, so citing the version number is needed for accurate comparisons.

Compared to the July 2024 baseline, the shift looks more dramatic. Writing's share was 34.1% back then but fell to 21.4% by September 2026, while information-seeking rose from 16.7% to 20.2% over the same period. "Practical guidance," which includes how-to advice and tutoring, has remained the single largest topic every month since March 2025, reaching 28.1% in September.

Work-related conversations made up 32.2% of all messages, and within that category, information-seeking's share ranged between 10.7% and 12.1% from July 2024 through July 2026 before climbing to 13.9% in August and 15.2% in September. In a separate work-activity analysis, OpenAI said the top 10 activities among classified work messages across 74 countries accounted for 51.1% of the total in Q3 2026, down from 56.0% in Q1 2025, suggesting usage at work is becoming more varied.

A 2025 paper by OpenAI and Harvard researchers found information-seeking rose from 14% in July 2024 to 24% a year later, while the Signals data shows a smaller rise from 16.7% to 18.3% over the same window, leaving nearly a 6-point gap between the two figures. Search Engine Journal noted OpenAI did not explain the discrepancy.

Source: Search Engine Journal, October 27, 2026. Checked October 29, 2026. Read the original