Users in developing countries such as the Philippines have been maximizing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT to make their work—and lives—easier, according to the World Bank.

"Countries like India, Brazil, the Philippines, and Indonesia exhibit high rates of GenAI adoption when compared to their GDP [gross domestic product], electricity consumption, and search engine traffic," the World Bank's digital transformation team comprised of global director Christine Zhenwei Qiang, senior economist Yan Liu, and consultant He Wang said in Sept. 11 blog titled "Who on earth is using generative AI?"

The similarly titled World Bank report published last August ranked the Philippines fourth in ChatGPT traffic as of March 2024, just after the United States, India and Brazil.

As of March this year, ChatGPT monthly traffic from the Philippines reached 94.38 million visits, with a 4.03-percent share of the global traffic.

In terms of monthly traffic per internet user, the Philippines was in 18th place with 1.18, World Bank data showed.

"The Philippines, a lower middle-income economy, outshines its peers with relatively high ChatGPT usage. This can be attributed to its strong information and communications technology (ICT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry," the World Bank noted in the report.

The Washington-based multilateral lender said massive ChatGPT use in the Philippines and high-income Estonia, which also specializes in ICT and BPO, "illuminate how economies' industry composition and occupational structure affects the adoption rates of generative AI tools."

In general, the World Bank blog said "middle-income countries have emerged as the unexpected stars of the GenAI phenomenon, dominating the landscape by accounting for half of all ChatGPT traffic."

"Remarkably, within just six months of the tool's release, middle-income countries surpassed high-income countries in ChatGPT traffic," the blog added.

In the report, the World Bank noted that five middle-income countries, namely Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines, "show generative AI traffic levels significantly higher relative to the US than their other metrics would suggest." The US was set as the benchmark for topping ChatGPT adoption.

"India accounts for only 14 percent of US GDP, 35 percent of US electricity consumption, and 30 percent of US search engine traffic, yet generates more than 50 percent of US generative AI traffic. This is even more pronounced for the Philippines, which represents a mere 1.4 percent of US GDP but generates nearly 20 percent of US generative AI traffic," the report pointed out.

Meanwhile, "such patterns contrast sharply with those observed in advanced economies, where search engine and generative AI traffic tend to align more closely with overall economic scale," the report added.

On the other hand, the World Bank blog lamented that low-income countries accounted for merely less than one percent of ChatGPT and overall GenAI traffic, "highlighting the barriers that these nations face in accessing and utilizing such technologies."

"Since the launch of ChatGPT, GenAI has seamlessly woven itself into the daily routines of approximately half a billion people worldwide. It's akin to a digital gold rush, with users from 209 countries and one in eight workers globally jumping on the bandwagon. The potential of GenAI to supercharge productivity and reshape the economy and society is nothing short of mind-blowing," the blog read.

"The transformative potential of generative AI is immense, but it comes with the critical challenge of ensuring that its benefits are equitably distributed. While the rapid adoption of these technologies in middle-income countries is promising, it also underscores the widening divide with low-income countries," the blog pointed out.