Consumer demand for AI-powered chatbot experiences has been driving significant revenue growth in mobile apps that leverage ChatGPT or OpenAI technologies. According to data.ai's analysis of the AI app ecosystem, consumers have spent over $14 million this year on the top 10 highest-earning apps that advertise their use of these technologies.
In February 2023, these 10 apps combined accounted for nearly $5.9 million in global consumer spending, with daily averages jumping by 11% to reach $232,000 just 20 days into March. This surge in revenue can be attributed to the integration of "AI" features and references to popular technologies like ChatGPT or OpenAI, which have become major drivers of demand.
For instance, many of these apps saw little consumer spend before their AI additions. Take the same group of apps, for example, which saw only $1.6 million in global consumer spending in December 2022. This number grew an impressive 3.7x to reach February's total, with last month representing a 55% increase from January 2023's $3.8 million.
One exception to this trend is Pixelcut AI Photo Editor, which had been generating decent revenue before the launch of its "magic writer" copywriter tool that uses GPT in January 2023. Prior to January 1, 2023, the app had generated gross spending of $19.8 million globally, so it's still doing well.
The top-earning apps included in data.ai's analysis are Genie – AI Chatbot; AI Chat – Chatbot AI Assistant; AI Chatbot – Open Chat Writer; Apo – AI Personal Assistant; Chat AI Bot – Writing Assistant; ChatOn – AI Chatbot Assistant; AI Chat – Ask Anything; Chat AI – Ask Anything; and GoatChat. Among these, Genie has generated the most revenue this year, with $3.2 million in global consumer spending so far in 2023.
What's interesting about this group of apps is that they're not trying to establish their own brand and identity to engage consumers. Instead, they're simply keyword-stuffing their app titles to match search terms people are likely using when looking for an AI chatbot app. The consensus seems to be that words like "AI," "Chat" or "Chatbot" and "Assistant" will help drive downloads – and by the looks of the apps' revenue totals, they may be right.
The apps in this group also rank highly in App Store searches for the term "OpenAI," indicating how much ground OpenAI has ceded in the mobile app market by not having its own official mobile app available. However, Semafor recently reported that the company is working on a mobile ChatGPT app, which would allow mobile users to access the AI from a dedicated experience instead of the existing web interface.
Apple has also struggled to deal with the influx of AI-powered apps. In January, both the App Store and Google Play became flooded with dubious ChatGPT apps that were claiming to be associated with OpenAI in order to charge hefty subscription prices for accessing ChatGPT – a service that's been free via the web.