The AI app category experienced remarkable growth, with consumer spending skyrocketing over 200% year-on-year to nearly US$1.1 billion. Popular apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, and ByteDance’s Doubao were key drivers of this surge.
If this growth trajectory continues, AI apps could secure a spot among the top 10 app categories by consumer spending within a year.
While new AI models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o launched last summer, contributed to periodic revenue spikes, consumer interest in AI apps remained steady throughout the year. Collectively, users spent 7.7 billion hours on AI apps in 2024, with apps featuring “AI” in their descriptions reaching 17 billion downloads.
ChatGPT stood out as a category leader, achieving 50 million monthly active users faster than high-profile apps like Temu, Disney+, and YouTube Music. The report highlights a continued appetite for apps powered by AI or featuring AI capabilities.
Other app categories also saw notable shifts in 2024.
- Streaming apps experienced slight declines in user engagement, despite growth in downloads and in-app revenue.
- Crypto apps gained traction, with Binance and Tonkeeper ranking among the top 10 finance apps by downloads.
- E-commerce apps, led by Temu and Shein, dominated the retail subgenre, supported by successful expansions into Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
- Finance apps maintained double-digit growth in user engagement, nearing 7.5 billion downloads, an 8% increase from 2023.
Additionally, four games and one app reached the US$1 billion consumer spending milestone in 2024: Last War, Whiteout Survival, Dungeon & Fighter, Brawl Stars, and WeTV.
The full report, which includes insights into the iOS App Store and Google Play, is available on Sensor Tower’s website. However, it excludes data from third-party app stores, such as those in China.
