a16z has just released its GenAI Consumer Applications Top 100 report. Since ChatGPT brought generative AI into the public eye over a year ago, we have witnessed the birth of thousands of new consumer products that harness the power of AI – from video generators to workflow hacks, and from creativity tools to virtual companions.
Six months ago, a16z delved into web traffic data to separate the signal from the noise. a16z ranked the most popular generative AI web products based on monthly visits and identified patterns in consumer adoption of this technology.
While a few early “winners” attracted widespread attention – particularly ChatGPT and Midjourney – new AI-native companies have emerged every month, creating a vibrant and competitive market.
Now, six months later, a16z has revisited the data to update its analysis. This time, a16z separated web and mobile generative AI products into two distinct lists based on SimilarWeb data (as of January 2024). The results were surprising: over 40% of the companies on the list were new compared to a16z’s initial September 2023 report.
However, unlike the initial analysis where a16z ranked companies based on web traffic and then added mobile app data, this time a16z ranked web and mobile generative AI products separately.
Similar to the web rankings, mobile apps were ranked based on monthly active users, with data sourced from Sensor Tower (as of January 2024). This distinction allowed a16z to examine the complete universe of top AI mobile apps for the first time. As a16z will discuss, there are significant differences in how consumers interact with generative AI on mobile devices compared to the web.
In addition to the inherent interest in these rankings, the data revealed several noteworthy trends, including emerging and expanding categories, AI investments, and engagement patterns. Here are some key insights from a16z:
Given the early phenomenal growth of ChatGPT – it was already the 24th most visited website in the world in a16z’s analysis six months ago – a16z expects this pioneering chatbot to maintain its top position on the list.
In fact, ChatGPT receives nearly 2 billion monthly web visits, roughly five times more than Bard (now Gemini), the second-ranked company. Alongside Gemini, companion creator Character.AI and writing assistant Quillbot remain in the top five. However, this does not mean the list has remained unchanged over the past six months: there are 22 new faces in the ranking based on web traffic.
Among these newcomers, the highest-ranked include Liner, an AI research co-pilot; Anthropic’s general-purpose assistant Claude; and three uncensored AI companion apps: JanitorAI, Spicychat, and CrushOn. (For more information on the surge in AI companions, see below.)
The mobile rankings from a16z are entirely new. ChatGPT also leads in this category, but with a smaller margin. In terms of monthly active users, ChatGPT is roughly 2.5 times larger than Microsoft Edge and Photomath, the second and third-ranked companies, respectively. For mobile products, the top five are rounded out by Microsoft’s search engine Bing (now rebuilt around AI) and photo enhancer and avatar creator Remini.
Interestingly, there are five AI companies that are true “cross-overs,” with both web and mobile apps making it into the top 50 list: ChatGPT, Character.AI, chatbot aggregator Poe, and image editors Photoroom and Pixelcut.
Six months ago, a16z noted that large language model (LLM)-based general-purpose assistants like ChatGPT dominated most of the web traffic. In its updated analysis, a16z observed the emergence of two new categories in the mix: music and productivity (including research, coding assistance, and document summarization tasks).
So far, Suno is the only music company to make the ranking. This tool generates original songs in the browser based on text prompts, complete with lyrics and spanning multiple genres. Suno initially launched as a Discord-only product, similar to Midjourney, but later debuted as a standalone site and Copilot extension in December 2023. (Read more about the potential seen by a16z in the AI music category here.)
Several of the major consumer AI products, like Suno, were initially launched or still primarily operate through Discord servers. This platform provided a testing ground (and a community!) without the need for a full-fledged frontend product.
The actual traffic to Discord servers is nearly impossible to measure, but the traffic to each server’s invitation page serves as a proxy for this. Based on this metric, as of January 2024, nine AI products or communities ranked among the top 100 Discord servers, with Midjourney leading the way.
The second notable new category on the list is productivity. AI-native platforms can enhance people’s interaction with software, allowing them to delegate daily tasks and reduce time spent on administrative overhead. The productivity category includes seven companies in the ranking: Liner, Eightify, Phind, MaxAI, Blackbox AI, Otter.ai, and ChatPDF.
PS: In a16z’s September 2023 ranking, there was no productivity category, and ChatPDF was categorized as “Other.”
With features like editing and summarization in their arsenal, these companies focus on helping employees, freelancers, and SMB owners work more efficiently. For example, Eightify offers summaries of YouTube videos, while Otter.ai can record meeting notes and transcribe them in real-time.
Of the seven productivity apps on this list, six are either offered or fully operated through Google Chrome extensions.
a16z expects more AI productivity tools to operate “in flow” with the work users are already doing, eliminating the need for copying and pasting prompts and outputs between workspaces and assistants like ChatGPT.
Alternatively, AI productivity companies may invent new end-to-end workflows around the unique capabilities of generative AI. AI workflow products can help users identify areas for improvement and automatically make those improvements.
Having an AI companion may seem like a niche area, but it has become a major use case for generative AI. Millions of people – including a16z itself – have formed relationships with chatbots. The web and mobile data indicate the impending social shift happening here: AI companions are going mainstream.
Six months ago, only two AI companion companies made it into the top 50 list; in this updated analysis, there are eight on the web and two on mobile. Character.AI leads the way in companion tools on both web and mobile platforms, ranking 3rd on the website and 16th on mobile.
Six of the eight web companion products in this list describe themselves as “uncensored,” meaning users can have conversations or interactions that might be restricted on platforms like ChatGPT. Users primarily access these products through mobile web rather than desktop – although hardly any offer applications. On average, 75% of the traffic to uncensored companion tools on a16z’s website list comes from mobile.
For those companion products that do have mobile apps, user engagement is exceptionally high. The most successful products in this category become central to users’ daily lives, becoming as ubiquitous as texting friends (if not more so).
As experts, it is important to recognize that a16z’s knowledge and understanding are constantly evolving and expanding. In the realm of generative AI and AI companions, technological advancements and societal acceptance are rapidly changing, presenting new opportunities and challenges for researchers, developers, and users themselves.
The evolving usage trends and consumer preferences observed by a16z highlight the importance of ongoing observation and analysis in this rapidly developing field. With technology maturing and society further embracing the role of AI companions, a16z expects to see more innovative applications and services emerge to meet a wide and diverse range of user needs.
According to Sensor Tower data, Character.AI averages 298 sessions per user per month, while Poly.AI averages 74 sessions per user per month.
a16z is beginning to see early signs of a broader set of companion applications that go beyond AI “boyfriends” and “girlfriends,” including those for friendship, coaching, entertainment, and even eventual healthcare.
In fact, early research has shown that AI outperforms real doctors in terms of diagnostic accuracy and bedside manner. And many companion products are multifaceted: in a recent Nature study, the Replika chatbot reduced suicidal ideation in 3% of users.
The categories of AI applications differ significantly between mobile apps and the web. In general, web products support more complex, multi-step workflow products centered around content generation and editing – at least for now! These products include AI voice toolkit ElevenLabs, AI art generator Leonardo, and AI presentation builder Gamma, all ranking in the top 20 for web-based generative AI products.
This is not to say that complex AI products cannot be built on mobile devices. a16z is optimistic about AI bringing higher-quality photo and video editing tools to mobile applications, for example.
Meanwhile, the usage of mobile apps tends to lean towards general-purpose assistants, many of which mimic ChatGPT. When browsing the list of top mobile apps, you may notice that 10 companies have names very similar to ChatGPT… partly because ChatGPT relatively slowly launched its own app, creating an opportunity for copycats to quickly gain App Store optimization advantages, especially if they pay for advertising.
Some of these ChatGPT imitator mobile apps are referred to as “clipper apps.” They deceive users into thinking they provide access to advanced models similar to ChatGPT, with similar branding and logos, but in reality, they charge for what ChatGPT offers for free using the same model. These apps often change their names or descriptions, making it difficult for the app stores to “police” this behavior.
Other popular generative AI mobile app categories are tailored to the unique capabilities of smartphones. Seven specialized avatar products appear on the app list; many users have a plethora of selfies saved on their phones that can serve as readily available training data. Additionally, three top apps – Facemoji (#9), Bobble (#31), and Genie (#37) – are keyboards designed specifically for mobile devices, allowing users to send text with the help of AI.
Educational technology is another category popular on mobile, allowing users to scan homework questions (such as Photomath) or learn a language through real-time conversation (such as Elsa). It is worth noting that while most of the top generative AI mobile apps are bootstrapped, meaning they have not raised external funding, according to PitchBook data, four out of the top seven educational technology apps have raised over $30 million in funding.
While Cerebral Valley may be the epicenter of AI, popular products are being developed worldwide. This is especially true for mobile apps. While over 30% of generative AI web products on a16z’s list originate from the Bay Area, only 12% of mobile app developers are based there.
Similarly, while over half of the top generative AI web products are developed in the United States, less than a third of mobile apps originate within the country.
Some mobile developers have multiple popular apps: for example, Istanbul-based app studio Codeway created the AI photo animation maker Face Dance, the chatbot app Chat & Ask AI, and the AI art generator Wonder, all of which appear on the top generative AI mobile app list. Similarly, HubX, based in Turkey, developed the Nova chatbot, DaVinci art generator, and PhotoApp enhancer.
These app studios often benefit from shared expertise across products, understanding how to launch, attract traffic, and monetize apps. Some are bootstrapped and focus on generating revenue as efficiently as possible. Others pursue the venture capital path – Bending Spoons, a Milan-based tech company behind video editor Splice and photo enhancer Remini (ranking 5th on the mobile list), recently announced raising $155 million in equity financing.
Clearly, a new generation of AI-native products and companies is growing at an unprecedented pace and deeply engaging users. a16z believes that AI will become a cornerstone for defining companies in the next decade.
According to Sensor Tower data, Character.AI averages 298 sessions per user per month, while Poly.AI averages 74 sessions per user per month.
a16z is beginning to see early signs of a broader set of companion applications that go beyond AI “boyfriends” and “girlfriends,” including those for friendship, coaching, entertainment, and even eventual healthcare.
In fact, early research has shown that AI outperforms real doctors in terms of diagnostic accuracy and bedside manner. And many companion products are multifaceted: in a recent Nature study, the Replika chatbot reduced suicidal ideation in 3% of users.
The categories of AI applications differ significantly between mobile apps and the web. In general, web products support more complex, multi-step workflow products centered around content generation and editing – at least for now! These products include AI voice toolkit ElevenLabs, AI art generator Leonardo, and AI presentation builder Gamma, all ranking in the top 20 for web-based generative AI products.
This is not to say that complex AI products cannot be built on mobile devices. a16z is optimistic about AI bringing higher-quality photo and video editing tools to mobile applications, for example.
Meanwhile, the usage of mobile apps tends to lean towards general-purpose assistants, many of which mimic ChatGPT. When browsing the list of top mobile apps, you may notice that 10 companies have names very similar to ChatGPT… partly because ChatGPT relatively slowly launched its own app, creating an opportunity for copycats to quickly gain App Store optimization advantages, especially if they pay for advertising.
Some of these ChatGPT imitator mobile apps are referred to as “clipper apps.” They deceive users into thinking they provide access to advanced models similar to ChatGPT, with similar branding and logos, but in reality, they charge for what ChatGPT offers for free using the same model. These apps often change their names or descriptions, making it difficult for the app stores to “police” this behavior.
Other popular generative AI mobile app categories are tailored to the unique capabilities of smartphones. Seven specialized avatar products appear on the app list; many users have a plethora of selfies saved on their phones that can serve as readily available training data. Additionally, three top apps – Facemoji (#9), Bobble (#31), and Genie (#37) – are keyboards designed specifically for mobile devices, allowing users to send text with the help of AI.
Educational technology is another category popular on mobile, allowing users to scan homework questions (such as Photomath) or learn a language through real-time conversation (such as Elsa). It is worth noting that while most of the top generative AI mobile apps are bootstrapped, meaning they have not raised external funding, according to PitchBook data, four out of the top seven educational technology apps have raised over $30 million in funding.
While Cerebral Valley may be the epicenter of AI, popular products are being developed worldwide. This is especially true for mobile apps. While over 30% of generative AI web products on a16z’s list originate from the Bay Area, only 12% of mobile app developers are based there.
Similarly, while over half of the top generative AI web products are developed in the United States, less than a third of mobile apps originate within the country.
Some mobile developers have multiple popular apps: for example, Istanbul-based app studio Codeway created the AI photo animation maker Face Dance, the chatbot app Chat & Ask AI, and the AI art generator Wonder, all of which appear on the top generative AI mobile app list. Similarly, HubX, based in Turkey, developed the Nova chatbot, DaVinci art generator, and PhotoApp enhancer.
These app studios often benefit from shared expertise across products, understanding how to launch, attract traffic, and monetize apps. Some are bootstrapped and focus on generating revenue as efficiently as possible. Others pursue the venture capital path – Bending Spoons, a Milan-based tech company behind video editor Splice and photo enhancer Remini (ranking 5th on the mobile list), recently announced raising $155 million in equity financing.
Clearly, a new generation of AI-native products and companies is growing at an unprecedented pace and deeply engaging users. a16z believes that AI will become a cornerstone for defining companies in the next decade.
