The rush to create Ghibli-style AI art using ChatGPT's image-generation tool led to a surge in users for OpenAI's chatbot, straining its servers and temporarily limiting feature usage.
This viral trend saw users worldwide sharing images inspired by the hand-drawn style of the renowned Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, founded by director Hayao Miyazaki, known for films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
Average weekly active users surpassed 150 million for the first time this year, according to data from market research firm Similarweb. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on X that they had added one million users in just one hour, highlighting the rapid user growth compared to the million users added over five days following ChatGPT's initial launch more than two years ago.
Last week also marked an all-time high for active users, in-app subscription revenue, and app downloads, as reported by SensorTower. The surge followed updates to the GPT-4o model, which improved image generation capabilities.
Global app downloads and weekly active users on the ChatGPT app increased by 11% and 5%, respectively, from the previous week, while revenue from in-app purchases rose by 6%, according to the market intelligence firm.
However, the chatbot faced a series of glitches and minor outages over the past week due to the increased traffic from the image-generating tool's popularity. OpenAI co-founder acknowledged the ongoing challenges, stating users should expect delays in new releases, potential issues, and slower service as the company handles capacity constraints.
The widespread use of the AI tool to replicate the Ghibli style has sparked concerns about potential copyright violations. Evan Brown, a partner at law firm Neal & McDevitt, noted that copyright law primarily protects specific expressions rather than artistic styles, making the legal landscape around AI-generated images uncertain.
OpenAI has not responded to inquiries regarding the data used to train its AI models or the legality surrounding its new feature. Meanwhile, comments from Studio Ghibli co-founder Miyazaki from 2016 resurfaced, in which he expressed his disapproval of AI-generated images, stating, "I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all."