India leads global AI app adoption with 21% of downloads
India has become a global leader in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) mobile apps, driving over one-fifth of global downloads. As per Sensor Tower data, India contributed to 21% of all AI app downloads in the first eight months of 2024. The country's prominent role in this trend is highlighted by the popularity of apps such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Google Gemini.
Global AI app downloads exceed 2.2 billion
The global download count for AI apps crossed 2.2 billion during the period, with India being a key contributor to the growth. Apart from communication and productivity tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini, several image and video editing tools also became popular among Indian users. Despite leading in downloads, most Indian users prefer using these apps without making any in-app purchases.
North America, Europe dominate AI app purchase revenue
While India tops AI app downloads, it falls behind in generating revenue from these apps. North America and Europe combined made up a whopping 68% of the global in-app purchase revenue for AI apps. Even though global AI app revenues have crossed $2 billion this year, India's share is still less than 2%. However, Sensor Tower predicts total AI app revenue for 2024 will hit $3.3 billion, a huge jump from last year.
AI and chatbot apps witness exponential growth
The demand for AI and chatbot apps has skyrocketed, with downloads jumping over 14 times to nearly 600 million in 2023. The trend continued in 2024, with over 630 million downloads recorded in just the first eight months. OpenAI's ChatGPT topped the list in global downloads, followed by the AI image editing app Remini, Photoroom AI Photo Editor, and Google's Gemini.
Future of AI-powered apps and challenges
Experts predict a rise in the use of AI-powered apps for various generative purposes like text, image, and video creation. They also foresee more straightforward applications like transcription, translation, and voice assistants. However, this increased reliance on AI poses new challenges for device manufacturers who have to innovate to develop faster processors and enhanced memory storage to support on-device AI models.
