AI App Market Insight (March 2026): ChatGPT Hits New Scale, Dreamina Enters Top Revenue Tier
As Q1 2026 comes to a close, competition in the global AI app market has once again intensified.
With the continued evolution of generative AI, leading products are pushing user scale to new heights—ChatGPT is approaching the 1 billion monthly active user (MAU) milestone, reinforcing its global dominance. Meanwhile, content creation apps, especially in video generation, are experiencing rapid growth and emerging as key drivers of market expansion.
Amid expanding user bases and accelerating product iteration, the competitive landscape is shifting. Which segments are rising, and which products are breaking through? This report analyzes the latest data to uncover key trends in the global AI app market for March.
Ⅰ. Diversification Defines the Global AI App Landscape
Overall, the global AI app ecosystem is becoming increasingly diversified, with a strong focus on content productivity tools.
Unlike Chinese markets dominated by AI assistants, global users show stronger demand for content creation tools such as image and video generation. Data shows that the top two categories are AI image editing (22%) and AI chatbots (20%), followed by video-related apps (editing + generation) at a combined 12%.
At the same time, entertainment-driven applications are more prominent globally. AI virtual characters and social companion apps account for 14%, significantly higher than in other markets, indicating strong demand for emotional interaction alongside utility.
Data Source: Xsignal
In terms of app performance, ChatGPT and Gemini continue to dominate global download rankings with a clear lead. They are followed by Doubao, Claude AI, and Grok, with Claude AI climbing three positions month-over-month. DeepSeek also rebounded into the top 10. Among non-chatbot apps, only video generation tools PixVerse and vivago ai made it into the top 10.
On the revenue side, AI chatbots remain dominant. However, AI music generation app Music & Song Creator rose to No. 5, while ByteDance's video generation product Dreamina AI climbed five spots to enter the top 10 for the first time—further validating the monetization potential of the video generation segment.
Data Source: AppMagic
Ⅱ. ChatGPT Approaches the 1 Billion MAU Milestone
The March global MAU rankings reflect a “one dominant leader with several strong followers” pattern.
AI assistants overwhelmingly dominate, accounting for 8 of the top 10 apps. ChatGPT leads with 961 million MAU, nearing the 1 billion mark. DeepSeek, Gemini, and Grok form the second tier. Notably, Dola (formerly Cici) recorded a 21.8% growth rate, making it one of the fastest-growing global apps for the month.
Non-chatbot apps are also gaining ground. Video generation app Dreamina AI ranked No. 5 with 79.94 million MAU, growing 12.88% month-over-month. Meanwhile, AI Mirror remained in the top 10 but experienced a decline, reflecting intensifying competition in the image editing segment.
Data Source: aicpb.com
Looking at MAU growth rankings, market expansion is driven by both AI assistants and vertical applications.
Claude AI ranked No. 1 with an 88.3% growth rate, showing strong expansion potential even among leading general-purpose apps. Meanwhile, apps like Manus AI, AI Chat, and Dola highlight ongoing fragmentation within the AI assistant space.
Vertical applications are also performing strongly. Plant identification apps PlantNet and PictureThis saw significant growth of 73.95% and 39.80%, respectively. AI social companion apps (e.g., Rosytalk, Emochi) and video creation tools like Kling AI also recorded solid gains.
Data Source: aicpb.com
Among the top 10 global apps from Chinese developers, AI assistants dominate. DeepSeek leads with 137 million MAU, followed by Dola (73.11 million) and PixVerse (28.63 million). Mid-tier apps such as Talkie AI (27.62 million) and Seekee (19.91 million) maintain stable scale, while lower-ranked apps fall below 15 million MAU, with education apps being the smallest segment.
Data Source: aicpb.com
Ⅲ. Featured AI App Cases
AI Plant Identification – PlantNet
PlantNet is a research-grade AI plant identification app developed by five French research institutions, with over 50 million global downloads. Benefiting from the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere, user growth surged in March.
The app covers over 45,000 plant species and identifies plants through features such as flowers, leaves, fruits, and bark. Beyond everyday use, it enables users to contribute to a global crowdsourced ecological database.
Its success lies in its strong academic foundation and minimalist approach—no ads, no subscription prompts. By combining scientific rigor with global participation, PlantNet has evolved from a simple identification tool into a collaborative platform for building a global plant knowledge base.
Source: 《PlantNet》
AI Calorie Recognition – Cal AI
Cal AI is an AI-powered nutrition tracking app that allows users to estimate calories simply by taking a photo. It has surpassed 10 million downloads, with the U.S. contributing 75% of its revenue.
Its core strength lies in simplifying complex nutritional analysis—users can instantly receive calorie and macronutrient data within seconds. Targeting users focused on weight loss, fitness, and chronic disease management, it effectively improves retention by lowering the barrier to tracking.
On the marketing side, Cal AI leverages platforms like TikTok for viral growth, achieving efficient user acquisition at low cost. Its success highlights the strong monetization potential of combining AI image recognition with high-demand health use cases.
Source: 《Cal AI》
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