A new report from OpenAI has revealed the sectors that are securing the highest productivity gains as a result of integrating ChatGPT and other AI tools into their workflows.
Additionally, the report highlights the impact AI has had since its inception — and the rapid rate at which it has been adopted.
That might not be the best move, though, as there have been mixed results where AI has been implemented. While businesses will want to keep up with the technology, they should think clearly before quickly investing in AI.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is Improving Productivity for These Sectors
A new report from OpenAI reveals the sectors who have seen improved productivity as a result of using ChatGPT and other AI tools.
Primarily, changes are happening in sectors that involve language- or pattern-heavy tasks, such as writing blog posts and answering customer questions.
Here are the biggest achievers when it comes to productivity gains with AI:
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Legal services
According to the report, OpenAI’s o1 model increased the productivity of lawyers by between 34% to 240% across six legal workflows. Likewise, AI tools significantly improved the quality of the legal work produced, particularly with more complex tasks like persuasive writing.
Customer acquisition and support
Call center agents working with OpenAI’s model were an average of 14% more productive when responding to customer queries, according to one study.
Interestingly, less-skilled workers saw the largest increases in how much their productivity improved.
Consulting
Consultants completed work in a lab experiment with 25% more efficiency and did 12% more tasks on average, when using OpenAI’s GPT-4. The work produced was also 40% higher in quality.
In a similar story to customer support workers, AI made gains greater for lower-performing consultants (43%) compared to higher-performing consultants (17%).
Government services
Workers equipped with ChatGPT within the Pennsylvania state government reportedly saved an average of 95 minutes per day on work, which included drafting, researching, and accessing IT support. These savings are the equivalent of adding an extra eight-hour workday to the week.
Education
A July 2025 study of over 2,200 US teachers found that AI helped them save nearly six hours per week on tasks. This included lesson planning and giving feedback. The time savings equate to six extra teaching weeks per school year.
AI Adoption Is Rapid, But Is This Beneficial to Businesses?
OpenAI’s report states that the adoption rate of ChatGPT within two years of its launch, was twice that of the internet. This is down to the nature of the technology, the report suggests — it is easy to access, has a low barrier to entry, high scalability, and plenty of use cases. Most of which are yet to be fully realized.
However, the speed at which AI is being developed, and adopted, may not be the best for businesses. Some studies have shown that ‘FOMO’ is a significant reason why companies are spending on AI, for fear of being out of the loop.
In terms of productivity, studies have been mixed. While some highlight potential productivity gains, others have suggested that AI has no impact whatsoever on hours or pay. The real potentials and pitfalls of AI, like its uses, is yet to be properly understood, in our opinion.
