How People Use ChatGPT in Australia: A WildChat Analysis

2026-09-24

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of large-scale, localized behavioral analyses concerning the everyday use of generative AI in Australia. Leveraging the WildChat dataset, we employ descriptive statistics and multi-level dialogue classification techniques to systematically examine Australian users’ linguistic preferences, interaction intents, and work-relatedness. Our analysis reveals, for the first time, a distinctive interaction pattern in this region characterized by execution-oriented prompts and strong alignment with professional tasks, alongside an emerging trend toward multilingual usage and self-expression. By bridging the gap in regional AI behavior research, this work provides critical empirical evidence for understanding the application characteristics of generative AI within local contexts.

Abstract

Generative AI chatbots are increasingly embedded in everyday life, yet most large-scale studies describe global patterns. This paper presents an Australia-focused analysis of WildChat, a public dataset of real-world ChatGPT interaction logs. Using descriptive analysis and a multi-layer classification scheme, we analysed 37,845 conversations identified as Australian, examining language diversity, work relevance, interaction intent, topic distribution, turn-taking, temporal change, work activities, and Australia-related domains. Our findings show that the Australian subset is strongly action-oriented and comparatively work-oriented, with most interactions classified as doing and a majority of conversations classified as work-related. The dataset also shows multilingual use and a growing presence of self-expression over time. Australia-related conversations frequently invoke local institutions, laws, regulators, education systems, companies, cultural references, and public services. Finally, we outline implications for future research, including local AI evaluation, multilingual participation, context-aware design, and safeguards for everyday high-stakes domains.

Problem

• ChatGPT usage
• Australia
• WildChat
• generative AI
• user behavior

Innovation

• WildChat
• Multi-layer Classification
• Generative AI
• Interaction Analysis
• Regional AI Evaluation