ChatGPT mobile app hit a record $4.58M in revenue last month, but growth is slowing
ChatGPT mobile App efforts bring a mix of positive and challenging news. On the bright side, the AI chatbot continues to witness impressive growth in terms of app installations and revenue. In September, it achieved a remarkable milestone with 15.6 million downloads and nearly $4.6 million in gross revenue across both iOS and Android platforms worldwide.
There is a slight cause for concern. According to recent data from market intelligence firm Appfigures, the rate of revenue growth has started to decelerate. While in the past few months, revenue was soaring, with growth rates of 31% in July and a striking 39% in August, it slowed down to a still respectable 20% growth as of September.
The deceleration in revenue growth could potentially signal that ChatGPT is approaching a point of saturation in terms of the number of mobile users willing to subscribe to the premium ChatGPT+ service. This subscription, priced at $19.99 per month as an in-app purchase, offers benefits such as faster response times, priority access during peak hours, and early access to new features and enhancements.
The subscription has enjoyed strong sales thus far, with ChatGPT on mobile generating gross revenues of $2.1 million in June, followed by increases to $2.74 million in July and $3.81 million in August. The most recent achievement is a new high, with September bringing in an impressive $4.58 million in gross revenue.
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ChatGPT isn’t the AI app with the highest revenue figures. A competitor named Ask AI has been able to generate more revenue, largely due to its substantial advertising expenditures. According to data from Appfigures, Ask AI’s revenue grew from $6.48 million in May when ChatGPT mobile was launched, peaking at $6.55 million in August. Although it saw a slight decrease in September, it still raked in an impressive $5.51 million, surpassing ChatGPT in this regard. Other competitors like Genie and AI Chat Smith have not reached the same revenue scale as Ask AI.
It’s worth noting that when it comes to net revenue, the situation may differ, especially considering Ask AI’s substantial ad spending. As for ChatGPT, it managed to retain approximately $3.2 million in net revenue in September after accounting for Apple and Google’s shares from the in-app purchase revenues.
ChatGPT achieved a significant milestone in terms of installations, with 15.6 million installs in September alone, bringing its lifetime total to an estimated 52.2 million. Google Play was the primary driver for these downloads, accounting for 9 million in September, while the App Store contributed the remaining 6.6 million.
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As expected, the App Store is driving revenue – $3 million of the total in-app purchases last month came from there. 60% of ChatGPT’s revenues come from its AI chatbot app in the U.S.
