Artificial intelligence is in a boom. Generative AI, in the form of intelligent chatbots, AI-enabled search engines and image creators have been the focus of significant public attention since 2023, leading more companies to invest heavily in AI innovation.
OpenAI has made waves with its GPT-powered chatbot ChatGPT, which launched in November 2022 and gained 100 million users in 30 days. ChatGPT can do more than simply answer user queries, it has been used to write computer programmes, compose essays and music, generate business ideas and translate text.
Microsoft’s Bing AI incorporated OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology to improve search results, which resulted in a surge in usage for the search engine.
The technology is still in its infancy and there have been warnings about incorrect or biased responses and harmful content. Some experts are also concerned about the possibility of chatbots being used to cheat on exams, create malware and replace jobs. Over 30,000 people, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, signed an open letter calling on AI labs to pause the training of systems more powerful than GPT-4.
Chatbots and generative AI looks to be the future, with voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant pushed off the side. None of these apps made any significant revenue outside of hardware sales, with Amazon’s Alexa division losing $10 billion in 2022. Amazon also plans to launch an generative AI service in the near future.
Outside of the fear of AI taking over, there have also been controversies around generative AI models scraping the web for images and videos, which they then use to power image and video generation tools. OpenAI and others have signed agreements with license holders around the world to continue to use their content in training the underlying models.
We have collected data and statistics on the AI app sector. Read on below to find out more. If you want to dive deeper in the AI app market, check out our premium report.
Key AI Statistics
- The AI app sector generated $1.8 billion in 2023 and is estimated to grow to $18.8 billion by 2028
- An estimated 230 million people used AI apps in June 2024
- ChatGPT was the most downloaded chatbot app with 209 million downloads
- OpenAI is the most valuable AI startup with a valuation of $80 billion
AI App Report 2024
Want to learn more about the AI app industry? In our AI App report, we cover financials, forecasts, usage, downloads, demographics and benchmarking data.
Top AI Apps
| App Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| https://chat.openai.com/ | ChatGPT | Launched at the end of 2022, OpenAI's chatbot is the fastest-growing consumer software in history. ChatGPT is able to take into account previous prompts to hold conversations with users |
| https://www.alexa.com/ | Alexa | Amazon's cloud based AI is a virtual assistant which can control some smart devices, as well as perform tasks such as music playback, setting alarms, providing real time information and making to-do lists |
| https://elsaspeak.com/en/ | ELSA: Learn And Speak English | ELSA acts as an English speaking coach which provides immediate pronunciation feedback from short conversations |
| https://www.faceapp.com/ | FaceApp | Photo editing app FaceApp offers AI filters, backgrounds and effects to change portraits |
| https://assistant.google.com/ | Google Assistant | Google Assistant is available on mobile and home automation devices, and is able to engage in two-way conversations with users |
| https://prisma-ai.com/lensa | Lensa | Images can be retouched, blurred or edited with special effects through Lensa |
| https://www.bing.com/?/ai | Bing AI | Based on OpenAI's GPT-4 model, Bing AI can write content, provide information available online and design artwork, while citing its sources |
| https://otter.ai/ | Otter AI | Transcription service Otter has incorporated AI to create automated meeting notes, recordings and slide capture |
| https://www.apple.com/uk/siri/ | Siri | Apple's virtual assistant Siri answers users' questions and performs tasks while adapting to individual language usages and preferences |
| https://socratic.org/ | Socratic | Acquired by Google in 2018, Socratic provides educational resources for students based on photos of homework questions |
| https://www.w.ai/ | WOMBO Dream | WOMBO Dream creates art based on users' prompts based on a range of art styles |
AI App Revenue
The AI app sector reached $1.8 billion revenue in 2023 and is expected to reach $18.8 billion by 2028.
AI app revenue 2021 to 2023 ($bn)
AI app forecast revenue 2024 to 2028 ($bn)
AI App Valuations
OpenAI is the most valuable AI startup, valued at $80 billion. Databricks, which is set to IPO in 2024, is second with a valuation of $43 billion.
AI app valuations 2024 ($bn)
AI App Users
Over 200 million people access AI apps, with the majority of them using chatbots or image editing tools.
AI app users 2021 to 2024 (mm)
AI Chatbot Downloads by App
ChatGPT was the most downloaded chatbot app by quite a large margin, at 209 million downloads.
