- ChatGPT usage jumped to 78.3 billion tokens as schools returned in September 2025
- OpenRouter data shows steep contrast between academic year peaks and summer lulls
- Students remain a major driver of daily ChatGPT traffic, studies confirm
In news which likely won’t come as a huge surprise to anyone, ChatGPT has seen a sharp rise in usage as schools reopen in the West, with token generation climbing to record levels.
New data from OpenRouter claimed that on September 18, OpenAI’s hugely popular chatbot[1] recorded 78.3 billion tokens, the highest since the summer slowdown.
The surge comes after months of lower activity during school holidays – back in June 2025, when many schools let out, daily usage fell to an average of 36.7 billion tokens, in comparison to May 2025, which averaged nearly 80 billion tokens per day, coinciding with exams and finals.
Shifting patterns of AI use
OpenRouter’s figures, which track usage across its 2.5 million users, provide a detailed view of how patterns shift throughout the year.
Although the data only represents one platform, it has become a widely cited resource for researchers and investors who are analyzing adoption of LLMs.
The numbers make it clear that students are behind a large chunk of ChatGPT’s daily activity.
As Futurism[2] reports, previous studies, including one from Rutgers University, found strong links between academic calendars and usage spikes. Looking at OpenRouter’s interactive graphic[3], that connection seems pretty undeniable.
Breaks such as spring and summer consistently align with drops in interaction, reinforcing earlier observations that ChatGPT traffic drops during holidays and recovers with the school year.
Among the models measured by OpenRouter, ChatGPT 4.1 Mini stood ahead of the rest, generating 26.9 billion tokens on September 18, ahead of the newly launched GPT-5, which accounted for 18.7 billion tokens on the same day, with other models such as GPT-4o mini and GPT-5 Mini also contributing notable shares.
Looking at the data, it’s clear AI tools[4] are increasingly being used in educational establishments with students relying on OpenAI’s chatbot for writing, information gathering, and study support.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing of course, and many teachers and researchers will see value in students learning how to work with these systems responsibly.
As with any new technology, the younger generations are inevitably going to be among the first to fully embrace AI as part of their daily lives.
The debate is not whether students should be using AI, but how it can be guided, taught, and balanced in ways that support learning rather than replacing it.