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With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, AI companion apps have gradually become a new favorite in the market. According to the latest data from Appfigures, a company that provides app intelligence, there are already 337 active AI companion apps worldwide, of which 128 were released in 2025. Appfigures' analysis indicates that this niche market generated $82 million in revenue during the first half of 2023 and is expected to exceed $120 million by the end of the year.
Image source note: The image was generated by AI, and the image licensing service provider is Midjourney
The unique aspect of AI companion apps lies in their ability to allow users to interact with customizable characters, which could be friends, lovers, or fantasy characters, aiming to make AI interactions more human-like. Appfigures describes this market as one where users can communicate with preset or user-generated characters that aim to display realistic personalities. Current popular apps include Replika, Character.AI, PolyBuzz, and Chai.
As of July 2025, the global download count for AI companion apps has reached 220 million, with a year-on-year increase of 88% in the first half of the year, totaling 60 million downloads. These apps are also driving consumer spending, reaching $221 million by July, with revenue in the same period of 2023 increasing by 64% compared to 2024. Data shows that the top 10% of apps account for 89% of the revenue in this category, and approximately 10% of the apps have lifetime user spending exceeding $1 million.
Notably, the revenue generated per download is also rising, increasing from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18 in 2025. Although AI companion apps have gained widespread popularity, some major companies have also started entering this market. For example, xAI's Grok launched an AI companion including anime characters in July this year. At the same time, OpenAI's ChatGPT continues to update to meet user needs.
Google also entered this field last year, attracting Noam Shazeer, the founder of Character.ai. Character.ai is still operating and has tens of millions of active users. According to the data, 17% of active AI companion apps in the market have the word "girlfriend" in their names, while fewer apps mention "boyfriend" or "fantasy." Although many new AI companion apps have been launched since 2022, some have been removed from the market due to not achieving significant progress in revenue or download numbers.
Key Points:
💰 It is expected that the revenue of AI companion apps will exceed $120 million in 2025.
📈 In the first half of this year, the download count of AI companion apps increased by 88% year-on-year, reaching 60 million downloads.
🤖 The top 10% of AI companion apps contributed 89% of the revenue in this category, with significant increases in user spending.
