AI Gender Gap: Usage Differences

AI Usage: Gender Differences

Almost every man and woman I know in any type of relationship, whether marriage, work, or friendship, exhibits significant differences in their AI usage. In most cases, women are confused by how men interact with generative AI, and vice versa. In my own marriage, this difference is substantial. My husband converses with ChatGPT, while I maintain a strictly transactional relationship with the software.

It's not because I fear a robot takeover. The truth is, I find it unsettling to hear ChatGPT "talk." It feels artificial. I use ChatGPT similarly to how I used Google: to locate unique recipes, assess medical symptoms, and obtain plant care advice. My husband uses it for website creation, astrophysics research, and who knows what else. He's comfortable treating it like a friend, which I find strange.

The Gender Divide in AI Adoption

This anecdotal evidence reflects a broader trend. The Wall Street Journal reported on a study revealing significantly lower AI usage among women. The study indicated that women comprised 42% of ChatGPT's roughly 200 million monthly users, 42.4% of Perplexity's, and 31.2% of Anthropic's Claude users. This gender gap widens further in smartphone AI usage. From May 2023 to November 2024, only an estimated 27.2% of ChatGPT app downloads came from women. Similar trends were observed for Claude and Perplexity. Overall, women are reportedly 20% less likely to use AI than men.

Exploring the Reasons Behind the Gap

To understand this disparity, I surveyed social media users about their AI usage and how it differs from that of the opposite sex. Surprisingly, not all women were hesitant, and not all men were enthusiastic. One male user noted that women in his life tend to be more conversational, while men are more reserved, possibly due to lower AI adoption rates and skepticism in his rural area. A female user mentioned using AI for parenting guidance, appreciating the validation she receives. Many female respondents use AI tools for relationship advice, essentially as therapists. A teacher uses AI to draft firm emails to parents, reducing her stress. Another teacher uses it to improve worksheets quickly. Another woman uses it for character art in online roleplaying games.

These responses, primarily from women, demonstrated more diverse AI applications than my own. Amy Anderson, who runs a tech firm, highlighted workplace AI usage differences. She uses AI to streamline tasks, manage her calendar, and handle mental labor, such as carpool scheduling, grocery lists, and summarizing school emails. Men, according to Anderson, use AI to optimize tasks for improved results, seeking efficiency for advancement rather than relief. Anderson concluded that women use AI to solve problems, while men use it for self-validation. She believes that significant opportunities await entrepreneurs who can tailor AI solutions to women's needs.

The Wall Street Journal article emphasizes that limited female participation in generative AI exacerbates gender biases, urging women to adopt the technology to promote gender neutrality. However, women already face numerous demands on their time. Yet, the innovative women I encountered suggest that AI, when used effectively, can shorten the to-do list. I am having it create grocery lists, update my calendar, and draft emails to make AI more beneficial for women. But I'll never talk to it, because that's just strange.