To help you understand the trends surrounding AI and other emerging technologies and what to expect in the future, the experienced Kiplinger Letter team will keep you updated on the latest developments and predictions. (Get a free issue of Kiplinger Letters or subscribe.) Subscribe to get all the latest news first, but we’ll publish many (but not all) of our predictions online in the coming days. Here is the latest information…
OpenAI’s sudden decision to shut down Sora, the recently launched social media app for creating and sharing AI-generated videos, came as a shock to the AI industry and key partner Disney.
Behind the scenes, Sora’s growth slows while OpenAI needs to save its scarce computing power for more important projects. But it also showed how difficult it is to launch new AI consumer apps.
So what consumer AI apps are hot these days? Technology venture capital firm A16 recently ranked the top consumer AI websites and mobile apps using monthly unique web visits and monthly mobile active users. The results offer a glimpse into AI deployment in the real world.
1. General AI assistant
AI chatbots are at the top of the list, with ChatGPT being the most popular website and mobile app. Other widely used chatbots include Google’s Gemini, Elon Musk’s Grok, Anthropic’s Claude, Meta AI, and China’s DeepSeek.
A16’s report states that OpenAI’s ChatGPT “remains a long way off as a consumer AI product.” The app has 900 million weekly active users and more than twice the website traffic of Google’s Gemini. Doubao, CiCi and Seekee from China are also popular. This ranking shows that general AI assistants are now mainstream and continue to grow in popularity.
just from $107.88 Kiplinger Personal Finance $24.99
Become a smarter, more informed investor. Please subscribe from $107.88 $24.99 plus get up to 4 special issues
Click on the free question
Sign up for Kiplinger’s free newsletter
Profit and prosper with the best expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more straight to your email.
Profit and prosper with the best expert advice straight to your email.
2. Photo/video editing AI app
AI photo editing is gaining momentum, including common uses like background removal and generation.
Users can also restore old photos, create professional headshots, and convert low-resolution photos to HD quality. Use the popular tools BeautyCam and BeautyPlus to touch up your selfies by removing wrinkles, adding makeup and other edits.
Users can get video editing support, including adding effects and transitions using Capcut, a video editing tool with over 700 million monthly active users. Other popular tools include Picsart, Remini, Adobe Lightroom, Photoroom, and Cutout.
Now anyone can generate images and videos by simply entering a simple text description. Just tell the AI tool what you want and it will produce beautiful (or not so beautiful) images and videos.
Additional descriptions can further refine the final product. Image generation tools include Midjourney, Leonardo, Ideogram, and Freepik. Meta AI allows users to generate images within Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Although Sora is gone, top AI video generation tools include Kling AI, Hailuo, and Pixverse, all of which are based in China.
Notion is a digital workspace that includes a personalized dashboard with all kinds of business apps and databases to manage notes, documents, and work projects. Grammarly provides writing assistance to fix typos, improve clarity, and target your audience. Canva helps you with graphic design for social media posts, presentations, logos, and more.
So-called agent AI, which automates tasks, is also becoming mainstream. There are tools to automate coding, such as Cursor and Lovable. Manus and Genspark are also enabling consumers to outsource tasks like spreadsheet analysis and research to AI.
5. AI learning app
Popular chatbots are widely used by students, so it’s no wonder apps designed specifically to help with homework are popular.
It intelligently combines human tutors and AI for personalized instruction, test preparation, and research. The company prides itself on its individual AI tutoring, which provides explanations at the student’s pace. Google-owned math learning app Photomath scans number and word problems and provides solutions with all the steps. Covers algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, and calculus from elementary school to university.
6. Social companion app
“If you can imagine it, we can bring it to life,” says the Character.ai website. This popular tool allows users to create and interact with custom AI characters. Since apps often include AI-generated images, Character.ai recently launched a digital photo album of the images it creates.
There are popular uncensored adult entertainment apps for roleplaying, such as JanitorAI. Adult content raises concerns about privacy and age restrictions, especially due to the addictive nature of AI chatbots. As these apps grow in popularity, we can expect concerns about child safety, psychological harm, and non-consensual deepfakes to increase.
- Chat GPT
- gemini
- Kamba
- deep seek
- Grok
- Claude
- character.ai
- perplexed
- concept
- Google AI Studio
Top GenAI Mobile Apps by Application
- Chat GPT
- cap cut
- gemini
- Kamba
- AI gallery
- pixart
- Bean treasure
- microsoft edge
- Meituan
- yandex
We expect these rankings to continue to fluctuate, with startups taking the lead and top tools falling off the map. The possibilities are endless with new standalone consumer AI tools, but don’t overlook the other ways this technology is making its way into our daily lives. The A16 report notes that “AI is increasingly being integrated into the tools people already use,” so “rankings increasingly underrepresent the AI products people use most.”
This prediction was first published in the Kiplinger Letters, which has been published since 1923. This is a concise weekly forecast of business and economic trends and expectations from Washington to help you understand what’s coming next to help you get the most out of your investments and money. Subscribe to the Kiplinger Letter.
