ChatGPT app's growth slows despite millions of daily downloads
What's the story
The growth of the ChatGPT mobile app has slowed down, according to a report by Apptopia. The third-party app intelligence firm analyzed download trends and daily active users (DAUs) and found that new user growth has slowed since April. However, in terms of sheer number of new installs, the ChatGPT mobile app is still doing well with millions of downloads per day.
Metrics analysis
US users spending less time on the app
Apptopia's analysis also revealed a decline in average time spent per DAU and average sessions per DAU in the US. The former has dropped by 22.5% since July, while the latter is down by 20.7%. This indicates that US users are spending less time on ChatGPT's app and opening it fewer times a day, showing a decline in user engagement metrics.
Retention rates
User churn in the US has dropped
Despite the decline in engagement metrics, user churn in the US has dropped and stabilized during this period. This indicates that the app is now retaining its core users better than before. Apptopia's analysis also noted that ChatGPT's average time spent per DAU and average sessions per DAU were on a downward trend even before Google Gemini's rapid rise in September with its new AI image model, Nano Banana.
Market competition
Slower download growth and increased competition
The slowdown in download growth could be due to increased competition from Gemini and changes to ChatGPT's AI model. Apptopia suggests that the initial experimentation phase with the ChatGPT app may have ended, and it is now part of users' daily routines. This means people are using the app when they need or remember it, unlike its early days when it was used more frequently.