AI task length growth
METR's scatter plot drew 8.8M views on X: 57x its typical post and #1 of 26 METR charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
When will AI systems be able to carry out long projects independently?
Why it spread
This post spread because it paired a big, simple claim about AI task length doubling every seven months with a scatter chart, and it drew 8,780,238 views, 5,018 likes, 888 reposts, 530 quotes, and 2,507 saves from an independent author with top quarter source reach and top quarter quote rate.
What worked
- The headline framing turns a technical result into a memorable rule of thumb, which made the finding easy to repeat and quote.
- The scatter chart is highly self labelling and branded with a source line, so viewers could grasp the trend without extra explanation.
- The post came from an independent author and landed in the top quarter for both source reach and quote rate, giving it credibility and discussion momentum.
What to borrow
We could take one clear trend from our own data and give it a plain language name or rule, then show it as a self labelled branded scatter chart with a visible source line.
Careful
Do not copy the exact doubling claim or treat the seven month pace as fixed, and do not assume the same reach will follow from the format alone.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by METR.
Make it yours
Your numbers, the bar chart way.
Starts from the real numbers of "Task length (at 50% tasks success Als can do) is doubling every 7 months" by METR. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
Free pictures carry a small "Made with ViralChart" line. That line is how other people find us.
API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id 03ef51909d53.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/03ef51909d53 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/03ef51909d53/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/03ef51909d53/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/03ef51909d53/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
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Questions people ask
How far did METR's "AI task length growth" chart travel?
8,780,238 views, 5,018 likes, 888 reposts and 2,507 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @METR_Evals gets about 153K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A scatter plot. AI task length doubles every seven months.
Can I use METR's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to METR. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.