The Top 100 Most Used AI Apps in 2025 - The a16z Show Recap

Podcast: The a16z Show

Published: 2025-08-27

Duration: 1554

What Happened

Olivia Moore and Justine Moore present the fifth edition of the Consumer AI 100, focusing on the most used AI-native products globally. They use data from Similar Web and Sensor Tower to rank websites by monthly visits and mobile apps by monthly active users. This ranking captures overall usage rather than revenue, offering insights into consumer engagement with AI products.

The episode highlights several new trends, such as 'vibe coding,' which gained prominence recently, with companies like Lovable and Replit making the list. This trend indicates a shift beyond traditional use cases of consumer AI like productivity and companionship, which still dominate a significant portion of the list with names like Juicy Chat and Joy.

Google's impact in the AI space is notable with four of its properties making the web list for the first time. This includes Gemini, which ranks second behind ChatGPT, and AI Studio, a developer-facing sandbox. Google's distribution through its platforms like Android has bolstered its traffic significantly.

Chinese companies are also making significant strides both within China and globally. Products like Quark and Dow Bao cater to the Chinese market where Western competitors are banned, whereas other products like DeepSeek and SeaArt are designed for international markets, particularly in image and video AI.

The discussion also covers the network effects in AI, noting how platforms like Hugging Face and Civid AI benefit from user-generated content and community interaction. This suggests that in consumer AI, product experience and community engagement can be as important as the underlying models.

Enterprise adoption of AI products is on the rise, with companies like Manus achieving a 90 million annualized run rate. This growth is driven by both solo users and enterprise teams adopting AI tools for prototyping and productivity, leading to a blend of consumer and enterprise use cases.

Key Insights

• The Consumer AI 100 ranking focuses on usage metrics rather than revenue, capturing a real-world picture of consumer engagement with AI products.
• Google's AI products, including Gemini and AI Studio, have made significant inroads into the top rankings thanks to their strategic distribution through platforms like Android.
• Chinese AI companies are diversifying their strategies by creating products tailored for both the domestic market and international audiences, particularly in the realms of image and video AI.
• Network effects in AI are evident as platforms like Hugging Face and Civid AI leverage user-generated content and community involvement to enhance their offerings.