Image AI models now drive app growth, beating chatbot upgrades - BERITAJA

Image exemplary releases are driving maturation for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5 times much downloads than accepted exemplary updates, according to a caller study from app intelligence supplier Appfigures.

This marks a displacement from earlier days, erstwhile the merchandise of new models powering the conversational experiences drove much demand, alongside the caller features for illustration a voice chat interface.

For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of caller downloads aft releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found.

For Google’s Gemini, the merchandise of its image exemplary Nano Banana drove an further 22+ cardinal downloads successful the 28 days pursuing the preamble of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image exemplary past August. This motorboat lifted the app’s downloads by much than 4 times complete that period, the information showed.

Image Credits:Appfigures

Meanwhile, ChatGPT added much than 12 cardinal incremental installs successful the 28 days aft the preamble of its GPT-4o image exemplary successful March of past year. That’s about 4.5 times much downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 exemplary releases, Appfigures pointed out.

Other exemplary releases followed akin trends, though connected a smaller scale. Meta AI’s preamble of its AI video provender Vibes added an estimated 2.6 cardinal incremental downloads successful the 28 days aft its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is simply a video model, but it’s yet about ocular content, not conscionable text.)

Image Credits:Appfigures

Still, the study cautioned, further downloads don’t ever construe into accrued mobile revenue.

Instead, caller image exemplary releases springiness group a logic to instal the app and effort retired its improved image procreation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll needfully person to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only $181,000 successful estimated gross user spending during the 28-day model pursuing its release, moreover though it produced a larger spike successful downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image exemplary release.

Meta AI’s motorboat of Vibes besides led to further downloads, but nary meaningful revenue.

Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the accrued attraction into existent dollars.

OpenAI’s 4o image procreation exemplary led to an estimated $70 cardinal successful gross user spending complete the 28 days aft its launch, compared pinch its anterior baseline, Appfigures said.

Image Credits:Appfigures

The institution besides looked astatine DeepSeek successful its analysis, but it didn’t fresh the pattern.

While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 cardinal downloads aft its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a emblematic exemplary comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, erstwhile it went from being comparatively chartless to an overnight sensation arsenic the tech manufacture learned about the techniques it utilized to train its AI models astatine a fraction of the costs of its competitors. This lawsuit highlights really curiosity could thrust downloads — though successful this instance, the liking wasn’t tied to an image model.