- Chatgpt -Use jumped to 78.3 billion tokens when schools returned in September 2025
- Openrouter -Data shows steep contrast between the study years and summer people
- Students remain an important driving force for daily chatgpt traffic, studies confirm
In news that probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone, Chatgpt has seen a sharp increase in use as schools reopen in the West, with token -generation climbing to record levels.
New data from Openrouter claimed that on September 18, Openais emerged extremely popular Chatbot 78.3 billion tokens, the highest since the summer vote.
The wave comes after months of lower activity during school holidays – back in June 2025, when many schools relaxed, the use of 36.7 billion tokens in comparison with May 2025, which was an average of almost 80 billion tokens per day. Day, dropped with exams and finals.
Changing patterns for AI use
Openrouter’s numbers that track use across its 2.5 million users provide a detailed overview of how patterns change throughout the year.
Although the data only represents a platform, they have become a widely cited resource for researchers and investors analyzing the adoption of LLMs.
The figures make it clear that students are behind a large part of Chatgpt’s daily activity.
Seam Futurism Reports, previous studies, including one from Rutgers University, found strong relations between academic calendars and spikes. Looking at Openrouter’s interactive graphics, the connection seems rather undeniable.
Breakers like spring and summer are consistent in accordance with drops in interaction, which strengthens earlier observations that Chatgpt Traffic falls during the holidays and recoveres with the school year.
Among the models measured by Openrouter, the Chatgpt 4.1 Mini stood in front of the rest and generated 26.9 billion tokens on September 18, in front of the newly launched GPT-5, which accounted for 18.7 billion tokens the same day, with other models such as the GPT-4o Mini and GPT-5 Mini also contributes to remarkable divisions.
Looking at the data, it is clear that AI tools are increasingly used in educational institutions with students who depend on Openais Chatbot for writing, information collection and study support.
Of course, this is not necessarily a bad thing, and many teachers and researchers will see the value of students who learn to work with these systems on one responsible.
As with any new technology, the younger generations will inevitably be among the first to fully embrace AI as part of their daily lives.
The debate is not whether students should use AI, but how it can be controlled, taught and balanced in ways that support learning rather than replacing it.
