Generative AI Apps Double Revenue and Reach 1.7 Billion Downloads in First Half of 2025

Generative AI apps are having a breakout year. In just the first six months of 2025, these apps recorded 1.7 billion downloads and nearly doubled their in-app revenue compared to the previous half year. That’s according to a new report from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, which shows how AI tools have rapidly moved from niche interest to global digital mainstays.

The jump is significant, don’t you think? During the second half of 2024, generative AI apps brought in $932 million. That number surged to $1.87 billion between January and June 2025. Meanwhile, downloads rose from 1 billion to 1.7 billion across platforms, fueled by both returning users and new adopters across global markets.

Source: Sensor Tower

Sensor Tower’s research also shows that user engagement has climbed just as quickly. People spent over 15.6 billion hours using these apps in the first half of 2025, spread across 426 billion individual app sessions. That’s nearly double the 8.5 billion hours tracked in the previous six months.

Asia Leads Download Growth

Asia has emerged as the strongest growth region for generative AI. The continent accounted for 42.6% of total GenAI app downloads, outpacing Europe and North America. The highest performing markets included India and Mainland China. 

Overall download growth in Asia reached 80% in H1 2025, compared to 51% in Europe and 39% in North America.

In terms of in-app purchases, Latin America showed the fastest growth, although North America still leads the market in overall revenue share at 40%.

ChatGPT Remains the Leader

Among all generative AI apps, ChatGPT continues to dominate. Sensor Tower’s data shows that ChatGPT was the top app by in app revenue in nearly every country, with the notable exception of China, where DeepSeek saw higher download numbers in the weeks after its launch.

ChatGPT is also seeing strong engagement metrics. Users spent an average of over 12 days per month using the app in the first half of the year. Its stickiness places it alongside major social and information platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), with only Google ranking higher in terms of monthly usage frequency.

The report notes that ChatGPT’s usage is no longer limited to weekdays or work related activities. Weekend usage has grown steadily, a sign that the app is becoming a general purpose assistant for users at home as well as at work.

Daily Usage Nears Search Engines

Sensor Tower’s data shows that people are using ChatGPT for around 16 minutes per day on average. That figure now comes close to the 18.2-minute average daily usage for top search engines and browser apps.

This closing gap suggests that AI chat tools may be replacing traditional search methods for many types of questions and tasks. The report also finds that users are using ChatGPT for much more than just information queries. Popular use cases now include wellness advice, shopping suggestions, financial planning, and meal prep.

In the second quarter of 2025, more than one third of user prompts were related to lifestyle and entertainment further indicating that AI chatbots are becoming more personal and more embedded into everyday habits.

Cross-Platform Adoption Grows

ChatGPT is seeing stronger cross-platform usage than many of its competitors. In the United States, over 15% of users accessed ChatGPT across both mobile and web platforms, compared to lower rates for other trending apps like Temu and Threads.

Still, the app trails behind giants like Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon in this metric. Those platforms see more than 25% of users engaging across multiple devices. But the fact that ChatGPT is closing in on that benchmark suggests steady progress in becoming a daily tool for a wide base of users.

The Rise of “AI” in App Stores

Another trend the report highlights is the rise of AI branding in app names and descriptions. On both the App Store and Google Play Store, the term “AI” appeared more than 100,000 times in app listings during the first half of the year.

Apps that included “AI” in their name or marketing materials saw a noticeable bump in downloads, especially in the weeks after those updates. 

In total, AI-tagged apps were downloaded more than 7.5 billion times in the first half of 2025, accounting for around 10% of total global downloads.

This trend spans across several app categories, including content creation, photo editing, health and nutrition, studying, and translation. However, Sensor Tower notes that the impact of adding “AI” to an app’s branding tends to be temporary unless backed by actual functionality.

What This Means for the Market

The sharp rise in generative AI app performance shows that consumers are becoming more comfortable using AI powered tools for everyday needs. As developers continue to integrate AI into new categories and refine their models, usage and revenue are likely to keep rising.

Still, competition is heating up. While ChatGPT leads in most categories, other players like Character AI, PolyBuzz, DeepSeek, and Perplexity are growing quickly and gaining market share.

The next half of the year could be even more competitive as startups and major tech companies alike race to release newer, more advanced generative tools.

With billions of sessions and nearly $2 billion in revenue in just six months, the message is clear. Generative AI apps are no longer experiments. They are now essential digital services and the market is only just beginning to change.