ChatGPT sees 26 million downloads, $9 million in revenue in 2025 as AI app usage skyrockets worldwide

ChatGPT

If you’ve been using ChatGPT more often lately, you’re not alone. A new report from Sensor Tower shows that generative AI apps, including ChatGPT, are booming in popularity. In the first half of 2025 alone, people downloaded GenAI apps a whopping 1.7 billion times, up from 1 billion in the second half of 2024.

But it’s not just downloads. Users are also spending a lot more time and money on these apps. In just six months, in-app revenue from GenAI apps doubled to $1.87 billion. People spent over 15.6 billion hours across 426 billion sessions using these tools—almost double the usage seen in the second half of 2024.

And guess who’s leading the pack? ChatGPT.

Sensor Tower found that ChatGPT was the top revenue-generating GenAI app in every country except China. People aren’t just downloading it—they’re using it frequently. In the first half of 2025, users opened the app an average of 12 days each month, putting it in the same usage league as Reddit and X. In fact, only Google saw more frequent usage.

Interestingly, ChatGPT is no longer just a workday assistant. Weekend usage has increased, suggesting people are using it for more personal tasks—like cooking, budgeting, wellness advice, and entertainment. In Q2 2025, over one-third of prompts on ChatGPT were about lifestyle or fun topics.

The app's presence spans devices too: More than 15% of U.S. users are accessing ChatGPT on both mobile and web, higher than some big platforms like Threads and Temu.

While it still trails giants like Google, YouTube, and Amazon when it comes to multi-platform use, ChatGPT’s rapid growth shows people are increasingly relying on it like a daily essential—much like a search engine or a productivity tool.

And in case you're wondering, apps that added the word “AI” in their names or descriptions got a quick boost in downloads but it’s ChatGPT’s stickiness and real utility that’s making it a true standout.