Last year was a landmark year for generative AI in the mobile ecosystem. This is according to a new report showing that generative AI apps will expand at an even faster pace in 2025, with growth in downloads and in-app purchase revenue exceeding the high bar set for 2024.
Globally, AI app downloads doubled year-over-year to $3.8 billion, and revenue from in-app purchases grew even faster, more than tripling year-over-year to more than $5 billion, according to market intelligence platform Sensor Tower.
integrated into daily life
This data marks a transition from an era when users downloaded AI out of curiosity to one where they are integrating AI into their daily lives.
According to Sensor Tower’s 2026 State of Mobile Report, total time spent on generative AI applications will reach 48 billion hours by 2025. This is approximately 3.6 times the 2024 total and approximately 10 times the 2023 level.
A similar increase was observed in the number of sessions.
By 2025, the session volume for these applications will exceed 1 trillion. The fact that session growth is faster than download growth proves that these apps are focused on building deeper engagement with existing users, rather than simply acquiring new users.
AI assistants are mainstream
By category, AI assistants were the most popular segment. The world’s top 10 most downloaded AI apps in 2025 all belong to this category, highlighting the increasing competition between big tech companies.
Companies like Google, Microsoft, and X continue to invest heavily in AI assistants to compete with market leader ChatGPT.
U.S.-specific data also reveals significant demographic divides. In the fourth quarter of 2025, generative AI apps were primarily used by male users.
ChatGPT ranked 9th among the most used apps by U.S. men, along with platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Spotify.
In contrast, the top 10 list for female users featured apps like Pinterest, TikTok, and Venmo, with ChatGPT not making the list.
Top 5 Most Popular AI Apps
The top 5 most popular AI applications by global downloads in 2025 are ranked as follows:
- Chat GPT
- Google Gemini
- deep seek
- Bean treasure
- puzzled
In addition to these giants, Grok, Adobe Acrobat Reader and Microsoft Copilot also secured a place in the top ten.
In other subgenres, content creation apps such as Suno (music generation) and Jimeng AI (text-to-video generation) gained momentum in 2025, while the growth rate of “AI companion” applications such as character AI showed signs of slowing.
AI tools are here to stay in content creation
According to Sensor Tower data, applications focused on music and video generation within the “AI Content Generators” category are starting to gain significant interest and are finding room to grow in the market.
In the area of music generation, the Suno application stood out. When it comes to text-to-video generation, the Jimeng AI application developed by ByteDance gained momentum in 2025.
These applications have managed to grab the attention of users with their specialized features in an industry dominated by popular AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
Turkish Telecom strengthens 2026 strategy centered on AI-powered health, 5G and data
Turki Telekom, one of Turkiye’s leading telecommunications and technology companies, has sharpened its strategic focus on digital health infrastructure, data-driven services and 5G-enabled smart solutions towards 2026, as it seeks to strengthen its position as a technology “platform player” within the broader innovation ecosystem.
Turk Telekom’s startup support extends beyond capital. Türk Telekom opens its fiber network, cloud systems, data centers, and research and development (R&D) capabilities to entrepreneurs, enabling real-world testing and scaling of new technologies.
This model allows startups to go to market faster and more reliably, especially in highly regulated and security-sensitive sectors such as medical technology. Experts say this approach positions Turktelekom as a strategic business partner rather than a traditional investor.
In 2026, Türk Telekom plans to move its AI-powered healthcare solutions beyond individual applications and instead focus on platforms that work in integration with hospitals, insurance systems, and public health infrastructure.
Remote patient monitoring, data analysis from wearable devices, and preventive health models are expected to form the backbone of this strategy.
Fusion of 5G and AI
As 5G expands, the company is targeting new use cases in healthcare and smart city technologies that require real-time data processing. Türk Telekom aims to deepen collaboration with startups on 5G-enabled smart ambulance systems, remote diagnostics and low-latency medical applications.
Data security and domestic technology development represent another part of the 2026 vision.
Protection of sensitive medical data, transparency of AI models, and use of locally developed software solutions are expected to form the criteria for the company’s future investments and partnerships.
AI will move from a system that “thinks” to an agent that “acts”
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technology that makes recommendations and analysis. They are becoming autonomous structures that can make decisions, generate actions, and manage processes on their own.
Softtech’s 2026 Technology Report examines this new era of artificial intelligence consisting of autonomous AI agents.
The report, now in its ninth edition, outlines technology-driven transformation across a wide range of sectors, from education and finance to industry and energy, arguing that AI has moved from a passive tool to an active digital actor.
The study was developed with the help of 35 experts and explores current technological impacts and post-2026 scenarios around three key themes.
He says the integration of language models, enterprise data layers, and orchestration platforms is paving the way for agent systems by 2026. However, the pace of technological change has not kept pace with organizations’ ability to transform.
According to the report’s data, 88% of agencies use AI in at least one business function, but only 23% are able to implement it at enterprise scale. This makes clear that the era of agentic AI will require not only technology investments but also a redesign of governance, organizational structures, and human-machine collaboration models.
The Softtech 2026 Technology Report points out that agent AI will transform not only business processes but also the relationship between humans and technology. This transformation, addressed under the heading ‘Humans and the Environment’, will be discussed within the framework of ethical boundaries, accountability and sustainability.
The report highlights that AI systems with increased levels of autonomy can only create lasting and socially acceptable impact through human-centered design and ethical governance principles.
Change accelerates
According to the report, agent AI will have the quickest impact in commerce, finance, and customer service, where consumers increasingly interact with AI agents during the purchasing and payment process.
In sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and logistics, digital twins, edge AI, and real-time optimization are improving operational efficiency while reducing error rates. AI-powered infrastructure management also plays an important role in energy security and sustainability.
In this new phase, the role of humans is shifting from decision-makers to supervisors who guide systems, oversee outcomes, and define ethical boundaries.
The Softtech 2026 Technology Report is positioned not only as a trend analysis for technology leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and academia, but also as a strategic roadmap for the age of agentic AI, which calls for technology to be shaped in parallel with human values and responsibilities.
