Mikkel Christensen
Artificial intelligence apps moved firmly into the mainstream in 2025, reshaping how consumers use their smartphones.
Artificial intelligence apps moved firmly into the mainstream in 2025, reshaping how consumers use their smartphones.
New industry figures indicate that users are increasingly spending both time and money on AI-driven tools rather than traditional app categories.
ChatGPT ranked as the second most downloaded app globally in 2025, according to Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2026 report.
The data shows overall app downloads remained largely flat compared with 2024, but user engagement patterns shifted significantly.
For the first time, consumer spending in non-gaming apps exceeded that of gaming. While mobile game revenue rose 1% year over year, downloads in the category fell 7%, suggesting slower growth in the player base.
AI assistants surge
Sensor Tower reported that AI Assistants became the 10th-largest app category by time spent in 2025. Time spent in the segment increased 426% year over year, placing it among the fastest-growing categories for both downloads and in-app purchase revenue.
ChatGPT drove much of that growth, recording a 148% rise in downloads, a 254% increase in in-app purchase revenue and a 426% jump in total time spent. Those gains pushed the app to No. 2 in Sensor Tower’s global top 20 rankings by downloads, making it the most downloaded AI app of the year.
Other AI apps showing strong performance included Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Doubao, Perplexity, Grok, Meta AI and Microsoft Copilot. Even established platforms such as Adobe Acrobat Reader appeared in AI download rankings as generative features expanded into mainstream services.
Shift in mobile habits
In the United States, ChatGPT’s adoption was particularly notable. During the fourth quarter of 2025, it ranked as the ninth most-used app among men, indicating that generative AI has become part of daily routines rather than a niche experiment. Among women, social and lifestyle platforms such as Pinterest and TikTok continued to dominate.
Social media overall maintained its scale, with nearly 2.5 trillion hours spent globally in 2025, averaging more than 90 minutes per user per day, up 5% from the previous year. TikTok led worldwide in downloads, in-app purchase revenue and time spent.
Sensor Tower’s findings suggest 2025 may represent a turning point for mobile behavior, with stable download volumes but rising revenue signaling deeper user engagement and growing willingness to pay for AI-powered services.
Sources: Sensor Tower,
