Many founders in India may not recognise the name Chegg. Yet, for nearly two decades, it was one of the most successful education technology companies in America.

Founded in 2005, Chegg built a subscription business around helping students with textbook solutions, homework assistance and tutoring. For millions of college students, it became a daily habit. If you had a difficult assignment, chances were you searched Google, landed on Chegg, and paid for access to the answer.

Then came ChatGPT.

Unlike many businesses that found AI to be another productivity tool, Chegg faced something far more fundamental. Students no longer needed to search for answers. They could simply ask an AI assistant. The experience was faster, conversational, and often free.

The change in user behaviour happened much faster than anyone expected.

The numbers reflect that shift. Chegg’s revenue declined from about US$767 million in 2022 to about US$377 million in 2025. During the same period, the company went through repeated restructurings, reduced its workforce significantly, closed offices and began searching for new growth areas beyond its original business.

To be fair, AI was not the only reason. College enrolments softened in some markets. Textbook usage changed. Google’s AI-generated search summaries reduced traffic to many educational websites. Competition increased. Even Chegg acknowledges that these forces arrived together.

What makes Chegg’s story remarkable is not that a company struggled. Businesses have always faced disruption.

What makes it remarkable is that its core product was displaced so directly.

In many industries, AI helps employees work faster, write better code, analyse data or improve customer support. The business still exists; AI simply makes it more efficient.

For Chegg, AI became the product that customers wanted instead.

That distinction is important.

Looking back, Chegg will probably be remembered as one of the first large, publicly listed companies whose primary value proposition was overtaken by generative AI within a remarkably short period.

Whether the company successfully reinvents itself remains to be seen. It is still operating, investing in new businesses and attempting to find its next chapter. But its journey is already an important business story.

Technology disruptions are usually discussed in hindsight, years after they unfold. This one is happening in front of us.

Twenty years from now, when people write about the early impact of generative AI on business, I suspect Chegg will occupy a chapter of its own.