Amid the boom in the generative AI market, installations of ChatGPT’s AI-powered chatbot continue to grow, along with revenue from its use, which reached a record $4.58 million in September.
Record-Breaking Downloads
The app also recorded a record number of downloads for iOS and Android worldwide for the month – 15.6 million. At the same time, the analytical company Appfigures warned of a slowdown in revenue growth.
Revenue Growth Fluctuations
Appfigures analysts estimate that revenue growth has been above the 30% mark for the past couple of months, reaching 31% in July and 39% in August, while it fell to 20% in September.
Implications of Revenue Slowdown
As TechCrunch noted, slowing revenue growth could be the first sign that ChatGPT is approaching maximum user numbers in terms of willingness to pay for the updated $19.99 per month ChatGPT+ subscription service, which provides faster response times, priority access during peak hours and early access to new features and improvements. And yet, the ChatGPT+ subscription is in demand: revenue from the use of ChatGPT on mobile devices in June was $2.1 million, in July – $2.74 million, in August – $3.81 million, and in September set a new record – $4.58 million.
Competition in Profitability
It should be noted that ChatGPT is not the leading AI application in terms of profitability. Competitor Ask AI is making much more money thanks to higher ad spend, from $6.48 million in May when the ChatGPT mobile app launched to a peak of $6.55 million in August, according to Appfigures. In September, revenue from the Ask AI app fell to $5.51 million, which is still more than ChatGPT. Other AI apps, such as Genie and AI Chat Smith, are reported to be lagging behind Ask AI in terms of revenue. However, taking into account advertising costs, Ask AI may be inferior to ChatGPT in terms of profitability, even with higher revenue.
Market Reach and Revenue Sources
According to Appfigures estimates, the total number of installations of the ChatGPT mobile application since its release has reached 52.2 million. Google Play is the leader in the number of downloads: in September, out of 15.6 million downloads, it accounted for 9 million, and the App Store accounted for the remaining 6.6 million, notes NIX Solutions. However, this does not prevent the App Store from leading in terms of revenue received from in-app purchases, which amounted to $3 million in September.