India has become the largest market for AI mobile application adoption, accounting for 21% of global downloads in the first eight months of 2024, as reported by Sensor Tower. Over 2.2 billion downloads were recorded worldwide during this period, with popular AI apps like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini driving this surge. Despite India’s dominance in downloads, most users access these apps for free.
In-App Purchase Revenue
While India leads in downloads, North America and Europe contribute to 68% of global in-app purchase revenue from AI apps, which has already surpassed $2 billion in 2024. India’s share in this revenue is less than 2%. Sensor Tower projects total AI app revenue to reach $3.3 billion by the end of 2024, marking a 51% growth compared to last year.
Global Trends and Growth
AI apps, particularly chatbots and image/video editing tools, saw rapid growth in 2023, with global downloads skyrocketing 14x from the previous year to nearly 600 million. By August 2024, downloads had already exceeded 630 million, surpassing the total for all of 2023. ChatGPT topped the charts globally, followed by Remini (an AI image editor), with Photoroom AI Photo Editor and Google Gemini ranking third and fourth.
Experts like Neil Shah from Counterpoint Research predict continued widespread adoption of generative AI tools for tasks such as transcription, translation, note-taking, and virtual assistance in the near future.
