Which are the most popular AI apps in the world? How many people use ChatGPT every month? And which applications are growing the fastest?
In this article, we analyse the evolution of the world’s most popular artificial intelligence apps from July 2024 to June 2026. The ranking is based on monthly active users, commonly known as MAU.
The figures refer only to app usage. They should not be confused with website visits, downloads or the total number of registered accounts.
Most Popular AI Apps in 2026
What is the most popular AI app in the world in 2026? Most Popular AI Tools by Number of Users (2024–2026) video here.
According to the June 2026 edition of the AICPB Global AI Rankings, ChatGPT is the leading AI application worldwide, with approximately 995.49 million monthly active users.
ChatGPT is approaching the symbolic threshold of one billion monthly users. Its audience is more than three times larger than that of Doubao, which ranks second with 324.31 million MAU.
Qwen is in third position with 251.13 million monthly active users. Google Gemini and Quark complete the top five.
Top 15 AI Apps by Monthly Active Users – June 2026
- ChatGPT – 995.49 million MAU
- Doubao – 324.31 million
- Qwen – 251.13 million
- Google Gemini – 162.74 million
- Quark – 159.24 million
- DeepSeek – 139.08 million
- Yuanbao – 103.92 million
- Baidu Netdisk – 101.03 million
- Dreamina – 87.36 million
- Dola, formerly Cici – 79.36 million
- Meta AI – 73.06 million
- Grok – 67.88 million
- Nova – 59.09 million
- Claude – 39.81 million
- AI Mirror – 34.90 million
The ranking shows a highly concentrated market. ChatGPT alone has more monthly active users than Doubao, Qwen, Google Gemini and Quark combined.
At the same time, the competition below first place is becoming increasingly intense, particularly among Chinese AI platforms.
ChatGPT Monthly Active Users
ChatGPT’s growth between 2024 and 2026 has been remarkable.
In July 2024, the application had an estimated 176.84 million monthly active users. By June 2026, the figure had reached 995.49 million.
This represents an increase of approximately 818.65 million users, or 462.9%. In less than two years, ChatGPT’s monthly audience became 5.6 times larger.
The most significant growth occurred during 2025. ChatGPT passed 400 million MAU in February, 500 million in April and 600 million in May. It then exceeded 900 million monthly active users at the beginning of 2026.
Despite this expansion, growth has started to slow. Between May and June 2026, ChatGPT increased by only 0.78%, from 987.80 million to 995.49 million.
The platform therefore remains dominant, but it may be approaching a more mature stage in its growth cycle.
The Rise of Chinese AI Apps
One of the most important trends in the global AI market is the rapid growth of Chinese applications.
Eight of the ten most popular AI apps in June 2026 were developed by Chinese companies or primarily serve the Chinese market. These include Doubao, Qwen, Quark, DeepSeek, Yuanbao, Baidu Netdisk, Dreamina and Dola.
Doubao, developed by ByteDance, increased from approximately 38.91 million monthly users in July 2024 to 324.31 million in June 2026. This corresponds to growth of more than 733%.
Qwen recorded an even faster rise. The application had 25.46 million MAU in December 2025 and reached 251.13 million by June 2026. Its audience therefore became almost ten times larger in only six months.
Google Gemini remains the leading non-Chinese competitor to ChatGPT. However, Gemini’s 162.74 million monthly users place it only slightly ahead of Quark, which has 159.24 million.
The data suggest that the AI app market is no longer dominated exclusively by American companies. China has developed a large and increasingly competitive ecosystem of AI assistants, search tools, image generators and productivity platforms.
Fastest-Growing AI Apps from 2024 to 2026
Several applications recorded exceptional growth during the period covered by the dataset.
Google Gemini grew from 6.05 million monthly active users in July 2024 to 162.74 million in June 2026. Its audience became almost 27 times larger.
DeepSeek appeared in the ranking with 33.70 million users in January 2025. By June 2026, it had reached 139.08 million, an increase of approximately 313%.
Meta AI grew from 26.49 million monthly active users in November 2025 to 73.06 million in June 2026.
Claude also recorded strong recent growth. Its MAU increased from 23.50 million in March 2026 to 39.81 million in June, representing growth of approximately 69% in three months.
Other applications followed a less positive trajectory. Character AI reached a peak of 35.01 million users in July 2025 but declined to 21.79 million by June 2026. This represents a decrease of almost 38% from its peak.
Nova also fell from 74.60 million users in January 2026 to 59.09 million in June.
These changes demonstrate how quickly rankings can shift. New products can acquire tens of millions of users in a few months, while established applications can lose market position just as rapidly.
Sources and Links
The main source used for the ranking is the AICPB Global AI App Ranking, which is updated monthly.
A supplementary snapshot is available from Statista’s ranking of leading AI applications by monthly active users.
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