In a significant development, consumers globally spent more on non-game mobile apps than on games in 2025, marking a notable shift in mobile app economics. According to Sensor Tower’s annual ‘State of Mobile’ report, consumers collectively invested approximately $85 billion in apps last year, indicating a substantial 21% year-over-year increase. This surge in spending, nearly 2.8 times the amount from five years ago, was primarily driven by the rising adoption of AI-powered applications.
Generative AI emerged as a pivotal trend driving revenue growth, with in-app purchase revenue within this category surpassing $5 billion in 2025, more than tripling from previous years. The downloads of AI apps also exhibited a remarkable doubling year-over-year, reaching a total of 3.8 billion downloads.
The popularity of AI assistants played a significant role in this surge, with the top 10 apps by downloads all being AI assistants. Leading the pack were notable names like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek. ChatGPT alone amassed a staggering $3.4 billion in global in-app purchase revenue, underscoring the financial potential within the AI app landscape.
Consumers globally spent a cumulative 48 billion hours in generative AI apps in 2025, a substantial increase from previous years. Session volume also peaked, surpassing one trillion in 2025, indicating a deepening engagement from existing users. Notably, this engagement metric outpaced the growth in downloads, suggesting a strong retention and usage pattern among consumers.
Furthermore, the competitive landscape in the AI app market intensified as tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and X ramped up their investments in AI assistants to rival ChatGPT. These companies introduced a slew of new capabilities, particularly in coding assistance, signaling a fierce competition for market dominance.
Source: TechCrunch