There is growing demand for AI “companion” applications other than big names like ChatGpt and Grok. According to new data provided to TechCrunch by App Intelligence Firm AppFigures, out of 337 active and revenue-generating AI companion apps available worldwide, 128 have been released so far in 2025. This subsection of the mobile AI market generated $82 million in the first half of this year and is expected to attract more than $120 million by the end of the year, the company’s analysis shows.
Unlike general-purpose chatbots, the AI companion app personifies AI interactions by allowing users to talk to custom characters, including friends, lovers, girlfriends, boyfriends, fantasy characters, and more. AppFigures similarly defined market segments, describing companion apps as being able to interact with pre- or user-generated synthetic characters aimed at embodying real personality.
Popular apps in this space include Replika, Character.ai, Polybuzz, Chai and more.
As of July 2025, the AI companion apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play have been downloaded 220 million times worldwide. In the first half of 2025, downloads increased 88% year-on-year to 60 million people.
Appfigures calculated the numbers and discovered that as of July 2025, AI companion apps were driving $221 million in consumer spending around the world. So far, these apps have generated 64% more revenue than in the same period in 2024.
The top 10% of all AI companion apps generate 89% of the revenue for the category, data shows. Plus, about 10% (or 33) of the apps exceed $1 million in lifetime consumer spending.
Revenue per download also increased by $0.66, ranging from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18 in the 2025 category.
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Dedicated AI companion apps are quite popular, but large companies like Xai have also moved to the market. In July, Xai’s Grok launched AI mates, including anime girls and guys, and the awful 3D Fox.
Meanwhile, a recent upgrade of ChatGpt to GPT-5 revealed the fact that many users felt relatives with older models when they lamented the loss of their AI peers they’ve become dependent on.
To address these and other concerns regarding the performance of the GPT-5, Openai CEO Sam Altman has regained the 4O model for the time being.
Google also entered the market last year when it hired character founder Noam Shazeer. The Character.ai app lives in its entirety, but still has tens of millions of monthly active users.
According to AppFigures data, the most popular AI companion apps are those used by people looking for AI girlfriends. Of the active apps in today’s market, 17% have app names that contain the word “girlfriend.” Terminology such as anime, soulmate, lover, etc. is not particularly mentioned very often.
The company says it is likely that there were many other AI companion apps launched in the app store since 2022, but it was later removed after failing to gain traction in terms of revenue or downloads. However, they were not factored into the analysis.
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