A wave of AI-generated visuals mimicking the signature style of Studio Ghibli has triggered a dramatic rise in ChatGPT usage, causing heavy load on OpenAI’s servers.
Fueled by viral posts on social media showcasing Ghibli-inspired creations, the trend propelled ChatGPT’s weekly active users beyond 150 million — the platform’s largest user spike in 2025 so far.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that an astounding one million users signed up within a single hour, surpassing user growth seen during the platform’s original launch phase.
