Consumer demand for AI chatbot experiences has funneled millions of dollars into mobile apps that advertise their association with ChatGPT or OpenAI technologies. According to a new analysis of the AI app ecosystem from analytics provider data.ai, consumers have now spent more than $14 million this year on the top 10 highest-earning apps that advertise their use of ChatGPT or OpenAI technologies. And that demand continues to grow.
In February 2023, these 10 apps together accounted for nearly $5.9 million in global consumer spending, the company says. And within the first 20 days of March, apps averaged $232,000 in daily consumer spending, an 11% increase from February’s average of $210,000.
What’s clear is that the integration of “AI” features and references to things like ChatGPT or OpenAI helped drive demand, as the majority of apps saw little consumer spending before their AI additions. For example, the same group of apps only saw $1.6 million in global consumer spending in December 2022, which grew 3.7 times to reach the February total. Last month also represented a 55% increase from the $3.8 million spent in January 2023, the analysis indicates.
Image Credits: data.ai
There was one exception to this trend: the Pixelcut AI Photo Editor app was generating decent revenue before the January 2023 launch of its “magic writer” copywriter tool that uses GPT. By December 2022, the app had generated $817,000 in consumer spending. In February, revenue was down slightly to $813,000, according to data.ai estimates. Prior to January 1, 2023, Pixelcut had grossed $19.8 million worldwide, so it’s still doing well.
In addition to Pixelcut AI Photo Editor, data.ai’s analysis included top earning apps Genie – AI Chatbot; AI Chat – Chatbot AI Assistant; AI Chatbot – Open Chat Writer; Apo – personal AI assistant; Chat AI Bot – Writing Assistant; ChatOn – AI Chatbot Assistant; AI Chat – Ask anything; Chat AI – Ask anything; and GoatChat.
Of these, Genie has generated the most revenue this year, with $3.2 million in global consumer spending so far in 2023. AI Chat and Pixelcut were the No. 2 and No. 3 top apps, with $2.8 million and $2.2 million.
What’s interesting about this group of apps is that, for the most part, none are trying to establish their own brand and identity to engage consumers. Instead, they just populate the titles of their apps with keywords to match the search terms people are likely to use when searching for some AI chatbot app. The consensus seems to be that words like “AI”, “Chat” or “Chatbot” and “Assistant” will help boost downloads – and from 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” we found – an indication of how much ground OpenAI has ceded in the mobile app market by not having its own official mobile app available. Last month, Semafor reported that the company was working on a ChatGPT mobile app, which would allow mobile users to access the AI from a dedicated experience instead of the existing web interface. However, the company declined to comment on the report, so it’s unclear what the current status of the project is.
Apple, playing the role of an intermediary, has also struggled with the influx of AI-powered apps. In January, both the App Store and Google Play were flooded with dubious ChatGPT apps claiming to be associated with OpenAI to charge hefty subscription fees to access ChatGPT – a service that is free over the internet. One notable app, “ChatGPT Chat GPT AI with GPT-3” (talking about keywords!) even made it to the top of the App Store before being taken down by Apple.
The company has now closed the shutters. For example, an app developer, Hidde van der Ploeg, had created an app that lets you use ChatGPT from your Apple Watch, but was rejected from the App Store due to the use of “GPT” in the app’s original name, WatchGPT. Instead of waiting for an appeal, he renamed the app “Petey” and it was approved.