ChatGPT’s mobile efforts have good and bad news. On the bright side, the AI chatbot set a new record in September with 15.6 million app installs and nearly $4.6 million in gross revenue across its iOS and Android apps worldwide. New data from Appfigures shows revenue growth slowing. Revenue growth dropped to 20% in September after topping 30% in July and 39% in August.
Slow revenue growth may be the first sign that ChatGPT is reaching saturation in terms of mobile users willing to pay $19.99 per month for the upgraded ChatGPT+ subscription service, which offers faster response times, priority access at peak times, and early access to new features and improvements. The subscription has sold well, with ChatGPT on mobile generating $2.1 million in June, $2.74 million in July, $3.81 million in August, and $4.58 million in September, a record.
Interestingly, ChatGPT is not the most profitable AI app. Ad spending by Ask AI, a competitor, rose from $6.48 million in May, when ChatGPT mobile launched, to $6.55 million in August, according to Appfigures. It fell to $5.51 million in September, but still outpaced ChatGPT. Genie and AI Chat Smith have grown less than Ask AI.
Given Ask AI’s ad spend, net revenue may differ. ChatGPT earned $3.2 million in September after Apple and Google took their cut of in-app purchases.
Appfigures estimates ChatGPT had a record revenue and 15.6 million installs in September, bringing its lifetime total to 52.2 million. Google Play led September downloads with 9 million and the App Store 6.6 million.
Naturally, the App Store drives revenue—$3 million of in-app purchases last month. ChatGPT’s 60% revenue comes from the U.S., its largest market.