Since its November launch, ChatGPT has been wowing audiences and grabbing the attention of business leaders. The advanced language model developed by artificial intelligence startup OpenAI hit 1 million users in as little as five days after its release, and some companies have even begun exploring how to integrate the chatbot with their products.

ChatGPT’s reach has barely stopped growing since then, dashing thoughts that it would fizzle out. In little more than two months since its launch, more than 100 million monthly active users (MAUs) have experimented with ChatGPT, which would make the young A.I. model the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to a research note published by the Global Research and Evidence Lab at Swiss investment bank UBS on Wednesday.

ChatGPT’s numerous applications are already changing the way companies think about running their business, but the young app may only be a harbinger of how A.I. could disrupt our world. Just like early web browser apps in the 1990s propelled the internet into the mainstream, ChatGPT could represent the same juncture for A.I. And Wall Street traders are starting to take note.

More than 50% of traders say that A.I. and machine learning will be the most disruptive forces shaping markets over the next three years, by far the most popular response according to a new survey by JPMorgan Chase published this week. The advent and game-changing nature of ChatGPT seem to have had a significant impact, as last year only 25% of traders mentioned A.I. technology as a disruptive player.

ChatGPT and A.I. are here to stay

ChatGPT’s rise has been largely unparalleled among other highly popular apps, according to UBS, and its widespread applications could be heralding a shift in how investors and traders interact with the stock market.

“In 20 years following the internet space, we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet app,” the UBS report said. The authors wrote that ChatGPT’s ballooning user base represents a “massive achievement in such a short period of time,” adding that social media apps could only dream of hitting those numbers so quickly. It took TikTok nine months to reach 100 million MAUs, while Instagram had to wait around two and a half years, according to the report.

ChatGPT has already attracted a $10 billion investment from Microsoft since its launch, while the disruptive chatbot’s popularity has reportedly become a “code red” for competitors in the search engine game, including Google, which is now scrambling to catch up and cutting through red tape to accelerate its own product releases.

ChatGPT’s success has also been a boon for A.I. stocks. Companies that supply A.I. technology such as semiconductors including Nvidia and Ambarella saw their shares surge in January on the back of ChatGPT. And the hype isn’t contained to the U.S. stock market either. Shares in Chinese A.I.-related companies have been soaring in recent weeks, off the news this week that Baidu, China’s leading search engine, is planning to launch its own chatbot A.I. service based on ChatGPT as early as March.

The A.I. revolution isn’t only boosting niche tech stocks, however, as it could also completely change the way traders go about their business. Investor groups have been using A.I. to help with their investments as early as 2018, when a BarclayHedge survey found as many as 56% of hedge funds used A.I. or machine learning to help inform their investment decisions.

But it isn’t just institutional investors and hedge funds that are using A.I. The online trading market is set to grow to more than $12 billion by 2028, according to a 2022 survey, and much of that growth will result from the integration of A.I. and superintelligent chatbots like ChatGPT with online trading platforms, making it easier for everyday traders to use algorithms and machine learning to make their stock market decisions. 

Chatbots have already proved adept at analyzing investment strategies and providing advice, as highlighted by ChatGPT this week explaining Warren Buffett’s investment philosophy, as reported by Insider, and even advising the legendary investor on what to add to his portfolio next.