HomeImage AI models overtake chatbot upgrades to drive app growth
Image model launches are fueling growth in AI mobile apps, generating 6.5 times more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a recent report from app intelligence firm Appfigures.
This marks a shift from earlier times, when the release of new models powering conversational experiences—alongside features like voice chat—drove more demand.
For example, ChatGPT and Gemini each gained tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures noted.
In the case of Google's Gemini, the release of its image model, Nano Banana, drove an additional 22 million+ downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. The launch boosted the app's downloads by more than four times during that period, the data indicates.
Credit: Appfigures
Meanwhile, ChatGPT added over 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days following the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March last year. That's roughly 4.5 times the downloads it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out.
Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI's launch of its AI video feed, Vibes, added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically this is a video model, but it's ultimately about visual content, not just text.)
Credit: Appfigures
Still, the report cautioned that additional downloads don't always translate into increased mobile revenue.
Credit: Appfigures
The company also examined DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn't fit the pattern.
While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn't a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek's breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn't tied to an image model.
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Image model launches are fueling growth in AI mobile apps, generating 6.5 times more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a recent report from app intelligence firm Appfigures.
This marks a shift from earlier times, when the release of new models powering conversational experiences—alongside features like voice chat—drove more demand.
For example, ChatGPT and Gemini each gained tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures noted.
In the case of Google's Gemini, the release of its image model, Nano Banana, drove an additional 22 million+ downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. The launch boosted the app's downloads by more than four times during that period, the data indicates.
Credit: Appfigures
Meanwhile, ChatGPT added over 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days following the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March last year. That's roughly 4.5 times the downloads it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out.
Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI's launch of its AI video feed, Vibes, added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically this is a video model, but it's ultimately about visual content, not just text.)
Credit: Appfigures
Still, the report cautioned that additional downloads don't always translate into increased mobile revenue.
Credit: Appfigures
The company also examined DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn't fit the pattern.
While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn't a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek's breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn't tied to an image model.
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