Peter Smith
OpenAI's leaked usage report just dropped a goldmine of insights about how people actually use AI - and more importantly, where they don't. AI entrepreneur Michel Lieben spotted something huge in this data: the biggest business opportunities aren't where everyone's looking, they're in the gaps nobody's filling yet.
What 700 Million Conversations Actually Look Like
The leaked report sampled 1.1 million conversations from OpenAI's massive user base, breaking down exactly what people ask AI to do. The results? Most folks stick to the basics:
- Practical Guidance: 28.3%
- Writing assistance: 28.1%
- Information Seeking: 18.3%
- Technical Help: 7.5%
- Creative ideation: 3.9%
- Data analysis: 0.4%
- Games and roleplay: 0.4%
- Cooking and recipes: under 1%
Here's the kicker - those tiny percentages at the bottom represent millions of potential users that nobody's properly serving yet.
Why These Gaps Are Worth Billions
The underused categories aren't small because people don't want them. They're small because nobody's built the right products yet. Take data analysis at 0.4% - that's still potentially millions of professionals who need quick insights but aren't getting them from current AI tools. Gaming and roleplay at 0.4% means there's a massive untapped market for immersive AI storytelling that nobody's cracked.
The real opportunity lies in building specialized AI tools for these neglected areas. While everyone's fighting over the crowded writing and tutoring space, smart entrepreneurs could own entire categories by focusing on niche industries like specialized legal tools, AI-driven analytics for small businesses, or consumer creativity apps that actually understand what people want to create.
Peter Smith
