In a world where artificial intelligence has long since made the leap from the research lab to our everyday lives, the question is: which AI applications do people actually use? In its fourth edition of the “Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps”, the renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has compiled comprehensive data that gives us a deep insight into the current AI landscape.
ChatGPT: The undisputed king of AI apps
According to a16z data, ChatGPT launched in late 2022 as a “research preview” and became the fastest-growing consumer product of all time. In just two months, the platform reached 100 million users. After an initial plateau phase, ChatGPT is now experiencing a remarkable second growth spurt – from 100 million weekly users in November 2023 to 400 million by mid-February 2025.
The biggest jumps in usage coincide with important product milestones:
- GPT-4o with multimodal capabilities (April/May 2024)
- Advanced Voice Mode (July/August 2024)
- o1 model series with improved logic (September/October 2024)
DeepSeek: The surprising challenger
The AI landscape was shaken up by an unexpected newcomer in early 2025: DeepSeek. Although the public chatbot was only launched on January 20, 2025, it generated enough traffic in just 10 days to rank second globally among all AI products in January, according to the a16z report.
DeepSeek was developed by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer and received the most traffic in January 2025 from China (21%), where ChatGPT is banned. DeepSeek’s launch outperformed most other LLM assistants – with 10 million users in just 20 days, it surpassed ChatGPT’s 40-day milestone.
AI video: Finally practical
AI-generated video has made significant strides in quality and controllability over the last six months, according to a16z. Three new companies – Hailuo (12th place), Kling AI (17th place) and Sora (23rd place) – made their debut in the web rankings.
The a16z analysis observes increasing fragmentation among providers of video models:
- Sora is considered a versatile all-rounder for video generation
- Hailuo is characterized by strong prompt compliance
- Kling offers additional functions such as camera motion control
AI-powered video editing remains a top use case for consumer AI, with apps such as Veed, VivaCut and Filmora leading the way.
The era of builders: Developer tools and “vibecoding”
In the last six months, two categories of products have exploded, according to the a16z report:
- Agent-based development environments (IDEs) for developers, such as Cursor (#41)
- Text-to-web app platforms for non-technical users, referred to as “vibecoders” by Andrej Karpathy
These platforms are growing rapidly: Bolt debuted in 48th place with 20 million dollars in annual revenue and 2 million registered users in the first two months.
Popularity vs. monetization: not always the same thing
The a16z analysis shows that the most popular apps do not always generate the highest revenue. Of the 80 apps ranked in the top 50 by either revenue or usage, only 40% overlapped.
Interestingly, some product categories were only represented in the revenue list:
- Plant Identification (PictureThis, PlantID)
- Nutrition (Cal AI, Fastic)
- Language learning (Speak, Learna, Loora)
- Music (Moises, Suno)
- Dictation (Otter, PLAUD)
These apps serve specific goals, which makes them less universal but more likely to attract users willing to pay.
How the AI market is changing
According to a16z, the AI app market is undergoing several significant changes:
1. From curiosity to usefulness
The initial plateau phase of ChatGPT shows that curiosity alone does not guarantee sustainable use. The renewed growth spurt only came with actual added value.
2. Specialization increases
While general assistants continue to dominate, specialized tools are gaining in importance – for video editing, code development or image generation.
3. Global diversification
The rapid rise of DeepSeek shows that the AI market is no longer dominated by US companies. Chinese models are quickly gaining global market share.
4. Democratization of development
Text-to-web app platforms enable non-programmers to create functional applications – a trend that a16z sees as potentially transformative.
5. Different monetization strategies
The discrepancy between usage figures and revenue shows different business models – from mass market to niche applications with a high willingness to pay.
Conclusion: AI apps are coming of age
The a16z analysis clearly shows that AI apps are making the leap from the experimental phase to the mainstream. The impressive user numbers of ChatGPT and the surprising rise of DeepSeek demonstrate that AI applications are increasingly becoming part of people’s everyday lives.
The development towards specialized applications and the global diversification of the market is particularly striking. Chinese companies are playing an increasingly important role, while at the same time the democratization of development through “vibecoding” is opening up new opportunities.
The coming months will show which of these trends will consolidate and which new applications will conquer the market. But one thing is certain: AI apps are here to stay – and they will fundamentally change our digital lives.
Source:
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): “The Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps – 4th edition 2025”, https://a16z.com/100-gen-ai-apps-4/
