15 March 2023

Hi folks,

Strap yourselves in – we’ve got more fresh data for you this week than Glenn Close has had Oscar snubs (8 times and counting, in case you’re wondering).

We’ve just finished one of the most in-depth studies into ChatGPT, alongside releasing new insights into F1, TikTok music discovery, and how Covid changed our personalities. 

We’ve dropped a few teasers below. For the full story, sign up to Zeitgeist.

Stats to power your week

🤖 Millions of people have been using ChatGPT since its release last November, with many wondering what it might mean for the future of finding information online. If we owned a search giant, we’d be worried. Two-thirds of ChatGPT users would consistently use it over a search engine to find answers. (GWI Zeitgeist)

🏎️ The new Formula 1 season has started, Red Bull are looking ominous, and more people are picking up on F1’s surprising new fans and Charles Leclerc stans. It’s all because of Drive to Survive, right? Well, no actually – most (40%) got into the sport by watching live coverage. The documentary might have helped seal the deal, but most viewers were already interested. (GWI Zeitgeist)

🤔 After more time indoors than we anticipated during Covid, how have we all changed since 2019? Unsurprisingly the biggest changes have come in health – most of us are more conscious of our wellbeing (77%) and take public health precautions more seriously (71%) these days. Check out this week’s chart for more on how things have changed since “before times”. (GWI Zeitgeist)

🍟 Tig Notaro suggested not everything needs to be air fried in the recent Netflix romcom “Your Place or Mine”, but try telling UK consumers that – the number who own an electric fryer has increased 31% year-on-year. (GWI Core Plus)

📉 Not to put too fine a point on it, but the world is feeling the pinch financially. The number of global consumers who perceive themselves as affluent is down 18% year-on-year, while the number who tend to buy premium products is down 13%. (GWI Core) 

What’s on our radar

Deep breath: Newspaper publisher Reach has produced its first AI-generated articles, while Wired has published a (conservative) AI content policy. Elsewhere Futuri has launched the first ever radio platform powered by AI, and a new partnership with Slack means ChatGPT will be summarizing that meeting you slept through.  

Oh, and Microsoft will likely have big AI news at its event on Thursday. 

It’s not just your kids’ drawings: fridges are getting adorned with ads.  

Hola, señor Beast: dubbing is helping YouTube stars go global. 

AI image generators can theoretically produce anything, but maybe in practice they only produce one thing. It could end up being like synthesizers in 80s music, where most songs ended up using the same presets.

It might be TikTok, it might be thrifting, it might be the economy, but either way: cluttercore is trending. 

Fashionistas unable to afford branded goods are turning to counterfeits (or “dupes”) instead. 

It’s truly a two-sided economy. Amid cost-of-living struggles luxury demand is doing well, while premiumization is bringing profits elsewhere. 

Meta is building a Twitter-like service, Reddit and Spotify are becoming more like TikTok, while TikTok is becoming more like YouTube and Patreon. Round and round they go.

TikTok is hoping the luck of the Irish will reduce some of the political pressure aimed in its direction. 

EFL fans may soon be able to watch 3PM kickoffs on TV for the first time. 

Coke’s latest “Masterpiece” campaign might turn out to be a savvy way of connecting with Gen Z. Our research has shown just how much Instagram has helped make them a generation of aesthetes.

Chart of the week

If it takes 100 days to make a habit, then most people’s lockdown routines went way past that threshold. So how do consumers think they’ve changed since before the pandemic?

Family time, exercise, and shopping online are sticking around, but there still seems to be a bit of friction stopping people from eating out, traveling, and going to live events.

Get more from GWI

Bits and bobs we thought you might like:

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• Get the full picture of today’s ‘it’ consumer, Gen Z
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