Generative AI apps have seen great progress in each downloads and in-app income within the first half of 2025, a report from market intelligence agency Sensor Tower mentioned. Customers downloaded Gen AI apps 1.7 billion instances, in comparison with 1 billion in H2 2024. These apps doubled in-app income, bringing in $1.87 billion in H1 2025, as in comparison with $932 million in H2 2024.
The report famous that customers spent over 15.6 billion hours on Gen AI apps within the first half of 2025, a bounce from 8.5 billion hours in H2 2024. This time was recorded over 426 billion periods.
Asia was the fastest-growing marketplace for Gen AI apps, and in addition took the lead for market share when it comes to downloads with 42.6%, due to markets like India and Mainland China. Obtain progress in Asia was 80% in H1 2025, as in comparison with 51% in Europe and 39% in North America.
Whereas LatAm registered the best progress for in-app purchases for Gen AI apps, North America nonetheless holds the lead when it comes to market share with 40%.
ChatGPT’s continued progress
Sensor Tower famous that ChatGPT was the main app for in-app income in each nation bar China. Nonetheless, China’s Deepseek carried out higher when it comes to the variety of downloads in weeks after the launch.
Individuals are additionally spending extra time with completely different AI assistants, with ChatGPT main the pack. Folks used the app for greater than 12 days on common in a month for H1. Different in style apps had been Character AI, PolyBuzz, DeepSeek, and Perplexity.
ChatGPT’s stickiness has been spectacular. Sensor Tower mentioned that individuals are utilizing OpenAI’s app as a lot as X and Reddit. Solely Google has a greater charge for the common variety of days used monthly. The report additionally talked about that, as in comparison with final yr, ChatGPT’s weekend utilization has additionally improved, signaling that individuals are counting on the AI-powered chat app past work.
“This development makes its app usage patterns more akin to Google’s, which consumers rely on as a primary search tool both during and outside of work hours,” the report mentioned.
Over time, the hole between utilization of ChatGPT and utilization of apps within the prime search engine and browser classes has decreased. As an example, in H1 2025, ChatGPT had 16 minutes of common every day utilization as in comparison with 18.2 minutes for the highest search engine and browser.
Past search, customers are additionally utilizing ChatGPT for well being and wellness, purchasing, private finance, and meal prep recommendation. The report mentioned that greater than a 3rd of prompts used on ChatGPT in Q2 2025 had been associated to way of life and leisure.
Sensor Tower famous that ChatGPT is gaining customers throughout each cell apps and platforms. It mentioned that greater than 15% of ChatGPT customers within the U.S. entry it throughout the net and cell, greater than different platforms like Temu and Threads. Whereas ChatGPT has proven progress, it’s nonetheless behind different platforms like Google, Fb, YouTube, Google Docs, and Amazon, which have greater than 25% of customers accessing the service each on the internet and cell.
Apps are including “AI,” actually
The intelligence agency mentioned in its report that the time period AI now seems over 100,000 instances in app descriptions on each the App Retailer and the Play Retailer. Customers downloaded apps mentioning AI 7.5 billion instances in H1 2025, which accounted for round 10% total downloads.
Within the final 12 months, a rising variety of apps in classes like AI assistant, AI content material era, Picture modifying, Vitamin & Eating regimen, Check Prep, Tutoring & Learning, Translation, and Different Hobbies & Curiosity Companies have added AI-related phrases.
An rising variety of apps within the prime charts for various classes now have “AI” of their names. Nonetheless, this addition solely has a short-term increase in downloads.
“Unsurprisingly, apps that added terms like ‘AI’ or ‘LLM’ to their app names or descriptions experienced a notable boost in downloads over the subsequent months,” Sensor Tower mentioned.
