This was first published March 21, in our weekly newsletter Apptopia Insight. To receive insights like this weekly, sign up here.

  • Another wave of interest in AI apps – AI apps initially took off in early 2023, but the apps are seeing another surge in downloads this year with ChatGPT DAUs accelerating YTD and Microsoft apps also seeing strong growth.
  • ChatGPT continues to penetrate – One year after launch, ChatGPT remains a top ranked app with sequential growth accelerating in February to +13% month-over-month.
  • Microsoft (MSFT) playing on multiple fronts – Microsoft is seeing success in AI across multiple fronts – Edge is reaccelerating, up +12% in 1QTD over 4Q (though DAUs are below 2023) and Copilot is growing significantly after launching this fall (surpassing Bing DAUs).

Strong User Growth for Top AI Apps

AI apps first launched in early 2023 with Microsoft Edge & Bing downloads spiking in January, followed by ChatGPT launching on mobile in April. Fast forward to 2024, we are seeing AI continue to penetrate in mobile with another wave of users adopting the apps.

ChatGPT is a clear winner and continues to see user adoption. Users have trended up since launch, separating from Microsoft’s apps Edge & Bing which have seen choppier growth. Microsoft Copilot also appears to be a winner – with strong growth since its launch in November and users now surpassing Microsoft Bing.

Google’s Gemini and Assistant apps have not seen the same adoption that ChatGPT & Microsoft apps have – though Gemini is not fully available on IOS (and the announcement earlier this week about a potential partnership to bring Gemini to iPhones seems even more important when looking at these DAU charts).

Perplexity is seeing a spike in DAU growth year-to-date as well, though on a smaller scale Additional AI-integrated apps like Cleo and Otter are up year-over-year. There are also multiple ChatGPT lookalikes – apps with similar logos and names like ‘AI Chatbot’ that have a material number of users. Lensa DAUs are below 2023.

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RDDT Primer