The mobile app landscape is constantly shifting, but few trends have been as transformative as the rise of generative AI. According to the latest data from Sensor Tower’s “State of AI Apps 2025” guide, the first half of 2025 has cemented generative AI’s position as a dominant force, not just as a novelty but as an integral part of users’ daily digital routines.
In the first half of 2025 (H1 2025), mobile users worldwide spent over 15 billion hours on generative AI apps. This staggering figure equates to more than 86 million hours per day, showing how deeply these apps have woven themselves into the fabric of mobile usage.
The total number of sessions for these apps reached 426 billion in H1 2025, an average of about 50 sessions for every person on Earth. This explosive growth presents a massive opportunity for app developers and marketers, but to succeed, you need to understand the key trends driving this market.
Generative AI’s Rapid Rise in 2025
The growth of generative AI apps has been nothing short of phenomenal. Global downloads for generative AI apps, including AI Assistants and AI Content Generators, neared 1.7 billion in H1 2025.
Over the same period, in-app purchase (IAP) revenue reached nearly $1.9 billion. Both downloads and IAP revenue showed strong half-over-half (HoH) growth, with downloads climbing 67% and IAP revenue more than doubling compared to the second half of 2024 (H2 2024).
This growth is driven by two key subgenres:
AI Assistants and AI Content Generators. While AI Content Generators initially accounted for the majority of downloads following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI Assistants have since propelled the genre to new heights. By the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025), AI Assistants like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek originated 85% of downloads between the two subgenres. A significant trend observed by Sensor Tower is the blurring of lines between these categories, as top AI Assistants now promote their image generation capabilities, expanding their utility and appeal.
A Tale of Two Markets: Asia’s Adoption vs. North America’s Revenue
While generative AI is a global phenomenon, its growth story is distinctly regional. The report highlights a fascinating dynamic between two of the world’s largest mobile markets: Asia and North America.
Asia’s Dominance in Downloads
Asia has solidified its position as the top market for generative AI downloads. The region’s downloads climbed by a remarkable 80% between H2 2024 and H1 2025, with major contributions from markets like India and Mainland China.
This growth significantly outpaced the 51% growth in Europe and the 39% growth in North America during the same period. Initial adoption of generative AI apps was led by English-speaking markets, particularly the United States, which accounted for roughly 20% of the market share following ChatGPT’s release.
However, as the technology has gained global traction, North America’s download share has declined to 11% in H1 2025, even as downloads continue to grow in the region. This underscores a critical point for global app marketers: while the U.S. remains an important market, the explosive growth in emerging markets, particularly across Asia, is reshaping the global distribution of users.
North America’s Leadership in Revenue
Despite the shift in downloads, North America remains the undisputed leader in generative AI app IAP revenue. The region’s IAP revenue for generative AI apps climbed to
$752 million in H1 2025, leading the way with a 74% half-over-half growth rate. ChatGPT continues to be the dominant player, holding the top spot for IAP revenue in every major market except for Mainland China. In H1 2025, ChatGPT accounted for 63% of all generative AI app revenue.
While North America holds the revenue crown, other regions are seeing faster growth. Latin America’s IAP revenue grew by 174% HoH, Asia by 138%, and the Middle East by 137%. Europe also saw a significant increase, more than doubling its IAP revenue with 121% growth. This demonstrates the immense and growing revenue potential of generative AI apps on a global scale.
High-Value Audiences and Shifting User Habits
The Sensor Tower report also provides deep insights into who is using AI apps and how their habits are evolving.
AI Users Overlap with “Tech-Savvy” Personas
The report reveals that AI Assistants have a high overlap with “tech-savvy” personas such as Crypto Traders, Frequent Car Renters, and Peer-to-Peer Payers. Interestingly, other apps like PolyBuzz and Character.AI are more popular with console gamers and “digital socialites”.
For example, the likelihood of a Crypto Trader using a generative AI app is 1.88 times higher than the general population, while a student is 1.52 times more likely. This insight is invaluable for marketers looking to target the most engaged and high-value users.
Consumers Are Getting More Comfortable with AI
Users are increasingly turning to their favorite AI Assistants, and these apps are becoming integral to daily routines. The average number of days used per month for top generative AI apps is rising, with ChatGPT, for instance, seeing consistent usage throughout the first half of 2025. While Google remains the gold standard for consistent mobile search usage, ChatGPT has become “sticky” for its users, with an average use of approximately 13 times per month. This is similar to the usage frequency of social media apps like X and Reddit, showing that AI has earned its place in a user’s monthly app rotation.
A significant sign of this broader adoption is ChatGPT’s shift towards increased weekend usage. Work-focused apps like Microsoft Teams and Slack typically experience drops in usage on both app and web during weekends, but ChatGPT’s usage pattern on mobile has become more akin to Google’s. Consumers rely on Google as a primary search tool both during and outside of work hours, and ChatGPT’s mobile usage is following a similar trend, showing it’s no longer just a weekday work tool.
The Broader Impact: AI Spreads Across Verticals and Marketing
The influence of generative AI extends far beyond the AI app category itself, reshaping the entire app ecosystem and influencing marketing strategies across verticals.
AI Features Become a Must-Have
From 2015 to 2019, AI was mostly confined to mobile games, but that fundamentally shifted following ChatGPT’s release. In H1 2025, apps mentioning AI in their names or descriptions were downloaded 7.5 billion times, constituting roughly 10% of all downloads during that period. This represents a significant 52% year-over-year increase. The AI-related terms that have become most common in app descriptions include “AI-powered” and “AI technology,” along with more specific terms like “AI translator” and “AI character”.
This trend is particularly strong in certain subgenres. The number of apps in Nutrition & Diet and Test Prep, Tutoring, & Studying that added AI-related terms grew by over 174% and 108% respectively from H2 2023 to H1 2024. For apps in these categories, AI features are becoming a must-have to compete with general-purpose AI Assistants. For example, AI-powered calorie scanners are now seen as a competitive feature for nutrition apps. Education apps, in particular, are adding features like homework scanning and quiz creation to stay ahead.
App Store Optimization & Digital Advertising
Adding AI-related terms to app names or descriptions provides a short-term boost in downloads. The median downloads for apps that added the term “AI” or “LLM” to their titles or descriptions climbed 2.9% in the month it was added. While this uplift varied, genres like Jobs & Education and Lifestyle & Services maintained a consistent increase throughout the three months following the AI term addition. However, for some genres like Dating & Social Discovery, adding AI terms appeared to backfire, likely reflecting user skepticism towards AI in personal interactions.
AI is also transforming digital advertising. The number of unique ad creatives with AI-related terms has increased more than tenfold since early 2023, signaling that this is far from a passing fad. In the U.S., digital ad spend for generative AI brands surpassed $200 million in Q2 2025, more than doubling the investment from Q2 2024. The primary channels for this advertising are social media platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn, which together account for nearly 70% of the digital ad spend.
The Road Ahead for App Marketers
The data from Sensor Tower’s report is clear: AI is no longer a niche feature. It’s a fundamental shift in user behavior and app functionality. For mobile marketers, the key takeaways are:
- Focus on Audience Insights: Understand your core persona. If you’re targeting tech-savvy users, lean into the features that resonate with them.
- Invest in Tailored AI Features: Simply mentioning “AI” isn’t a long-term strategy. To maintain a competitive edge, apps must develop AI features that solve specific, nuanced problems for their audience.
- Adapt Your ASO and Ad Strategy: Use AI-related terms strategically to capture organic growth, but back it up with a strong, data-driven advertising strategy on the platforms where your audience is most engaged.
- Embrace the Global Market: While North America remains the revenue powerhouse, the rapid adoption in Asia and other emerging markets shows where the next wave of users will come from.
When you understand these trends and proactively integrate AI into your product and marketing strategies, you can position yourself for sustained growth in the rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem.
