The market for AI-related apps has also seen a boom under the AI boom. According to Sensor Tower, a mobile app data analytics company, the downloads and revenues of AI apps around the world rose sharply in the first eight months of this year.

Revenues from AI Apps Soar in 2024

In its latest report, Sensor Tower said that thanks to the strong growth of headline apps such as ChatGPT, global AI app revenues surged 51% year-on-year to $2 billion in January-August 2024, and are expected to reach $3.3 billion for the full year of 2024.

In terms of downloads, global AI app downloads grew 26% year-on-year to 2.2 billion in January-August 2024, and are expected to top 3.3 billion for the full year of 2024, the company said.

Looking specifically at regional markets, India emerged as the largest market for AI app downloads in 2024, contributing 21% of the total downloads. In addition, Latin America, Europe, and Southeast Asia accounted for 20%, 15%, and 14% of downloads, respectively. North America and Europe remain the major markets for AI app revenue sources, contributing 47% and 21% of the total revenue from January-August 2024, respectively. North America, with a 47% revenue share, is the most profitable market for AI apps globally.

ChatGPT leads the global AI application market

The report further points out that in the top 30 global AI application download rankings in 2024, Chatbot applications and image editing applications account for the vast majority.

In terms of download volume, revenue, and active user base, OpenAI's ChatGPT is undoubtedly the champion of the AI application market. From January to August 2024, the download volume of ChatGPT exceeded 160 million times and the revenue was nearly 230 million US dollars. As of August 2024, ChatGPT's cumulative revenue has exceeded 270 million US dollars, with over 190 million monthly active users.

The image editing application Remini under Bending Spoons has become popular on major social networks due to its AI avatar generation function and AI clay filters. From January to August 2024, it has been downloaded over 120 million times and ranked second on the download chart. As of August 2024, the global cumulative download volume of Remini has reached 450 million times, and the in app revenue has exceeded 200 million US dollars.

Three new AI applications, including Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Chatbot AI&Smart Assistant, have entered the 4th, 8th, and 9th positions on the list.

The Chatbot app Doubao from ByteDance ranked No. 5 in the download list and was the only Chinese AI app on the list. The ByteDance AI applications that made it to the top 30 of the download list include the image editing app Hypic and the AI education app Gauth.

Codeway Digital, a mobile application publisher in Türkiye, has four AI applications including Chatbot AI&Smart Assistant, Chat&Ask AI by Codeway, Take AI: Face&Photo Editor and Face Dance: AI Photo Animator.

Global AI + Chatbot app revenue this year has surpassed full year of 2023

2023 is a year of global AI+chatbot application explosion, with download volume increasing more than 14 times compared to 2022, approaching 600 million times. From January to August 2024, the download volume of AI+Chatbot applications exceeded 630 million times, surpassing the annual level of 2023.

In the first eight months of 2024, the global AI+chatbot app in app purchase revenue is close to $580 million, which is 1.5 times higher than the full year of 2023.

Companion AI applications favored by young users

The report also mentions the gradual rise of emotional companion AI with the development of AI+Chatbot applications.

The head app Character AI 2024 reached an all-time high of 22 million MAUs in August and nearly 19 million downloads from January to August, making it the segment leader.

Globally, Talkie AI is trailing Character AI with 17 million downloads, but in the U.S. market, Talkie AI has surpassed Character AI in terms of downloads.

In terms of revenue, Replika, CharacterAl, and TalkieAl rank among the top three in the companion AI app track for 2024. from January-August 2024, Replika generated over $9 million in in-app revenue and nearly $90 million in cumulative global revenue.

Accompanying AI apps are highly favored by young users, and the proportion of users aged 18-35 in head apps such as Character AI, Talkie AI, Linky AI and HiWaifu is higher than 70%, with the proportion of 18-24 year-olds in Character AI being as high as 66%.

There are differences in the distribution of different companion AIs in terms of user gender, with female users favoring Character AI and Talkie AI, and Linky AI and HiWaifu being more appealing to male users.