2024 AI Apps Market Insights

2023 was a breakout year for global AI apps. By 2024, fueled by the rapid growth of leading AI apps, total market revenue in the first eight months surpassed $2 billion, with full-year projections reaching $3.3 billion—a 51% year-on-year surge.

This report covers global trends in AI app downloads and revenue, market distribution, top AI apps' performance, and showcases case studies like ChatGPT's success. For more insights, please click the button below to view the full report for free.

Note: The revenue data compiled by Sensor Tower represents estimated in-app purchase (IAP) estimates from the App Store and Google Play. It does not include ad revenue or earnings from third-party Android marketplaces in mainland China.

AI App Revenue Soars in 2024

The AI app market, which saw explosive growth in 2023, demonstrated increased maturity in 2024. Driven by the strong performance of top apps, global revenue for AI apps surged to $2 billion in the first eight months of 2024, with full-year estimates reaching $3.3 billion, marking a 51% year-on-year growth.

While app downloads came from diverse users worldwide, AI app revenue primarily originated from North America. India emerged as the largest market for AI app downloads in 2024, contributing 21% of total downloads. However, North America dominated revenue generation, accounting for 47% of global AI app earnings.

ChatGPT Leads Global AI App Market

Chatbots and image editing apps comprised almost the entire list of top 30 AI apps by global downloads in 2024.

OpenAI's ChatGPT undisputedly reigned supreme in the AI app market across downloads, revenue, and active users. From January to August 2024, ChatGPT amassed over 160 million downloads and nearly $230 million in revenue. By August 2024, its revenue exceeded $270 million, with monthly active users surpassing 190 million.

Remini, an AI image editing app by Bending Spoons, went viral on various social platforms thanks to its AI avatar generation capability and AI clay filter. The app garnered over 120 million downloads from January to August 2024, securing the second spot on the download rankings. As of August 2024, Remini's total global downloads hit 450 million, with in-app purchase revenue exceeding $200 million.

Newcomers Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Chatbot AI & Smart Assistant claimed the 4th, 8th, and 9th positions respectively on the chart.

ByteDance's chatbot app DouBao ranked 5th, standing out as the sole Chinese AI app on the list.

Additionally, ByteDance's AI image editor Hypic and AI education app Gauth also made it to the Top 30 by downloads chart.

Turkish mobile app publisher Codeway Dijital has four AI apps that clinched a spot on the download charts, including Chatbot AI & Smart Assistant, Chat & Ask AI by Codeway, Retake AI: Face & Photo Editor, and Face Dance: AI Photo Animator.

In the first 8 months of 2024, global revenue from AI+Chatbots apps has already surpassed 1.5 times the total revenue of 2023

2023 was the year of explosive growth for global AI+Chatbots apps, with downloads increasing over 14 times year-over-year to nearly 600 million. In the first 8 months of 2024, downloads of these apps have already exceeded 630 million, surpassing the entire 2023 total.

In the first 8 months of 2024, the global IAP revenue of AI+Chatbot apps reached nearly $580 million, already exceeding 1.5 times the 2023 total.

Companion-style AI apps highly favoured by young users

With the rise of AI+Chatbots apps, emotional companion-style AI is gradually emerging. The leading app Character AI reached a historic high of 22 million MAU in Aug 2024, with downloads of nearly 19 million in the first 8 months of 2024, becoming the segment's frontrunner. Globally, Talkie AI closely trails Character AI at 17 million downloads, but in the US, its downloads have surpassed Character AI.

Companion AI apps are particularly popular among younger users, with those aged 18-35 accounting for over 70% of the user base for top apps like Character AI, Talkie AI, Linky AI, and HiWaifu. Notably, 66% of Character AI's users fall within the 18-24 age group.

The gender distribution among users of various companion AI apps also shows differences. Female users tend to favor Character AI and Talkie AI, while Linky AI and HiWaifu are more appealing to male users.