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ChatGPT’s Record Growth Meets Mounting Mental-Health Warnings

Psychiatrists in the United States are flagging delusion cases tied to prolonged chatbot conversations.

Overview

  • ChatGPT logged more than 827 million mobile app downloads from January to October 2025, with a monthly record of 40.5 million installs in January, according to Statista data cited by Merca2.0.
  • Statista figures cited in the coverage show OpenAI’s revenue rising from $319 million in the first half of 2023 to $2.33 billion in the second half of 2024, driven by subscriptions and Microsoft-linked enterprise use.
  • U.S. clinicians cited by The Wall Street Journal report dozens of suspected psychosis cases following intensive chatbot interactions, including UCSF physicians treating hospitalized patients.
  • OpenAI says about 0.07% of users show possible mental-health crisis symptoms and says it is training ChatGPT to de‑escalate and direct people to support, while Character.AI restricted teen access after a lawsuit.
  • Experts interviewed by Mashable advise demystifying the tool, using it to speed up tasks without replacing judgment, and forming opinions before consulting it, as Clarín also reports lawsuits alleging mental-health harms.