Demand for AI “companion” purposes exterior of larger names, like ChatGPT and Grok, is rising. Of the 337 lively and revenue-generating AI companion apps accessible worldwide, 128 had been launched in 2025 to this point, in line with new knowledge offered to iinfoai by app intelligence agency Appfigures. This subsection of the AI market on cellular has now generated $82 million in the course of the first half of the 12 months and is on observe to tug in over $120 million by year-end, the agency’s evaluation signifies.
Not like general-purpose chatbots, AI companion apps anthropomorphize AI interactions by permitting customers to converse with customized characters, together with mates, lovers, girlfriends or boyfriends, fantasy characters, and extra. Appfigures outlined the market section in the identical means, describing companion apps as these during which the consumer can work together with both premade or user-generated artificial characters meant to embody an precise persona.
Well-liked apps on this area embody Replika, Character.AI, PolyBuzz, Chai, and others.
As of July 2025, AI companion apps throughout the Apple App Retailer and Google Play have been downloaded 220 million occasions globally. In the course of the first half of 2025, downloads had been up 88% year-over-year, reaching 60 million.
Appfigures crunched the numbers and located that, as of July 2025, AI companion apps have pushed $221 million in shopper spending worldwide. Thus far this 12 months, these apps have generated 64% extra income than throughout the identical interval in 2024.
The highest 10% of all AI companion apps generate 89% of the income within the class, the info exhibits. As well as, round 10% (or 33) of the apps have exceeded $1 million in lifetime shopper spending.
Income per obtain can be up $0.66, from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18 for the class to this point in 2025.
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Whereas devoted AI companion apps are pretty standard, greater firms like xAI are additionally transferring into the market. In July, xAI’s Grok launched AI companions, together with an anime lady and man, in addition to a snarky 3D fox.
In the meantime, ChatGPT’s latest improve to GPT-5 dropped at gentle the truth that a lot of its customers felt a kinship with the older mannequin, as they mourned the lack of their AI companion, whom that they had come to depend on.
To deal with these and different issues about GPT-5’s efficiency, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman introduced again the 4o mannequin in the meanwhile.
Google final 12 months tapped into the market, too, when it employed away Character.ai’s founder, Noam Shazeer. The Character.ai app lives on and nonetheless has tens of tens of millions of month-to-month lively customers.
In accordance with Appfigures’ knowledge, the most well-liked AI companion apps are these utilized by individuals on the lookout for an AI girlfriend. Of the lively apps available on the market at present, 17% have an app title that features the phrase “girlfriend,” in contrast with 4% that say “boyfriend” or “fantasy.” Phrases like anime, soulmate, and lover, amongst others, are much less often talked about.
The agency notes there have been doubtless a variety of different AI companion apps that launched on the app shops since 2022, however had been later eliminated after failing to realize traction by way of income or downloads. These weren’t factored into its evaluation, nevertheless.
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