How do people actually apply artificial intelligence to their lives? According to a provocative recent study that question appears to be evolving as fast as AI itself.
Between 2024 and 2025 actual GenAI use on platforms including but not limited to ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini evolved significantly, with many new categories emerging.
How people actually use LLMs may well determine the value of much content and many inventions. Some are likely to be licensed under copyright and patent. Only some content will be deemed “fair use” and data will not go unvalued. User demand and the courts will no doubt play a role.
In 2024 the top six GenAI uses were according to findings published in The Harvard Business Review:
- Generate Ideas
- Therapy & Companionship
- Specific Search
- Edit Text
- Explore Interests
- Fun & Nonsense
In the 2025 follow-up to that research the top six uses were:
- Therapy & Companionship
- Organize Life
- Find Purpose
- Enhance Learning
- Generate Code
- Generate Ideas
Strengths and Weaknesses
It is clear that people are learning what are LLM strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own when it comes to using one. They appear to trust AI more in some circumstances and less in others.
“Since [2024], the hype around AI, gen AI, and large language models (LLMs) has only amplified,” says HBR study organizer, Marc Zao-Sanders . “User interest has doubled, investment in AI is skyrocketing, governments are taking more emphatic and explicit positions, and the stakes are about as high as they get—the future of humanity, according to some.”
Generate a Legal Document was up one notch from 29 to 28 over the year. Enhance Learning was up from the 8 spot to 4. Fix or Improve Code went from 30 to number 8.
How people actually use LLMs may well determine what content and inventions are most likely to be licensed under copyrights and patents. Demand will no doubt play a role.
Personalize Learnding dropped for 9 to 17. Troubleshoot declined from 7 to 16. Among those 2024 activities no longer in the top 30 in 2025: Summarize Content, Make a Complaint and Recommendations.
The entire comparison list of 100 topics is definitely worth perusing.
The 2025 Top-100 Gen AI Use Case Report lists the top 100 applications rated according to perceived usefulness and scale of impact (assessed qualitatively by expert review), and includes quotes for some entries.
Image source: Voronoiai; HBR
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