Generative AI apps person seen tremendous maturation successful some downloads and in-app gross successful nan first half of 2025, a study from marketplace intelligence patient Sensor Tower said. Users downloaded Gen AI apps 1.7 cardinal times, compared to 1 cardinal successful H2 2024. These apps doubled in-app revenue, bringing successful $1.87 cardinal successful H1 2025, arsenic compared to $932 cardinal successful H2 2024.
The study noted that users spent complete 15.6 cardinal hours connected Gen AI apps successful nan first half of 2025, a jump from 8.5 cardinal hours successful H2 2024. This clip was recorded complete 426 cardinal sessions.

Asia was nan fastest-growing marketplace for Gen AI apps, and besides took nan lead for marketplace stock successful position of downloads pinch 42.6%, acknowledgment to markets for illustration India and Mainland China. Download maturation successful Asia was 80% successful H1 2025, arsenic compared to 51% successful Europe and 39% successful North America.

While LatAm registered nan highest maturation for in-app purchases for Gen AI apps, North America still holds nan lead successful position of marketplace stock pinch 40%.
ChatGPT’s continued growth
Sensor Tower noted that ChatGPT was nan starring app for in-app gross successful each state barroom China. However, China’s Deepseek performed amended successful position of nan number of downloads successful weeks aft nan launch.
People are besides spending much clip pinch different AI assistants, pinch ChatGPT starring nan pack. People utilized nan app for much than 12 days connected mean successful a period for H1. Other celebrated apps were Character AI, PolyBuzz, DeepSeek, and Perplexity.

ChatGPT’s stickiness has been impressive. Sensor Tower said that group are utilizing OpenAI’s app arsenic overmuch arsenic X and Reddit. Only Google has a amended complaint for nan mean number of days utilized per month. The study besides mentioned that, arsenic compared to past year, ChatGPT’s play usage has besides improved, signaling that group are relying connected nan AI-powered chat app beyond work.

“This improvement makes its app usage patterns much akin to Google’s, which consumers trust connected arsenic a superior hunt instrumentality some during and extracurricular of activity hours,” nan study said.
Over time, nan spread betwixt usage of ChatGPT and usage of apps successful nan apical hunt motor and browser categories has decreased. For instance, successful H1 2025, ChatGPT had 16 minutes of mean regular usage arsenic compared to 18.2 minutes for nan apical hunt motor and browser.

Beyond search, users are besides utilizing ChatGPT for wellness and wellness, shopping, individual finance, and repast prep advice. The study said that much than a 3rd of prompts utilized connected ChatGPT successful Q2 2025 were related to manner and entertainment.
Sensor Tower noted that ChatGPT is gaining users crossed some mobile apps and platforms. It said that much than 15% of ChatGPT users successful nan U.S. entree it crossed nan web and mobile, higher than different platforms for illustration Temu and Threads. While ChatGPT has shown progress, it is still down different platforms for illustration Google, Facebook, YouTube, Google Docs, and Amazon, which person much than 25% of users accessing nan work some connected nan web and mobile.
Apps are adding “AI,” virtually
The intelligence patient said successful its study that nan word AI now appears complete 100,000 times successful app descriptions connected some nan App Store and nan Play Store. Users downloaded apps mentioning AI 7.5 cardinal times successful H1 2025, which accounted for astir 10% wide downloads.
In nan past 12 months, a increasing number of apps successful categories for illustration AI assistant, AI contented generation, Photo editing, Nutrition & Diet, Test Prep, Tutoring & Studying, Translation, and Other Hobbies & Interest Services person added AI-related terms.
An expanding number of apps successful nan apical charts for different categories now person “AI” successful their names. However, this summation only has a short-term boost successful downloads.

“Unsurprisingly, apps that added position for illustration ‘AI’ aliases ‘LLM’ to their app names aliases descriptions knowledgeable a notable boost successful downloads complete nan consequent months,” Sensor Tower said.
Ivan covers world user tech developments astatine TechCrunch. He is based retired of India and has antecedently worked astatine publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web. You tin scope retired to him astatine im[at]ivanmehta[dot]com