New data indicates that use of the Meta AI mobile app for iOS and Android has seen a significant increase. According to a new analysis from market intelligence provider Similarweb, the app’s daily active users across both platforms jumped to 2.7 million as of October 17. This is a substantial rise from around 775,000 just four weeks ago.
In addition, Meta AI’s app installs are also up, reaching 300,000 new downloads per day. This figure compares with under 200,000 daily downloads a few weeks ago. For context, the Meta AI app had just 4,000 daily downloads a year ago on October 17.
The firm says it has not seen any meaningful correlation in either search or advertising estimates. It notes that Meta could be running Facebook or Instagram promotions that would not be captured in its model. However, there is another possible explanation for the sharp rise: the launch of Meta’s new Vibes feed in September. This feature introduced short-form AI-generated videos to the Meta AI mobile app.
Meta AI introduced the Vibes feed on September 25. This date correlates with the sharp increase in the app’s daily active users on iOS and Android.
Recently, OpenAI’s video generator Sora drew headlines as its app reached the top of the App Store when users rushed to try the new technology. Meta AI could have benefited from this launch as well. While the data does not prove cause and effect, it is possible that the attention on Sora drove some people to try Meta AI in order to compare the two experiences.
Another possibility is that Meta could be benefiting from Sora’s invite-only status. Those who could not try out the OpenAI app may have looked for an alternative to experiment with. This would be an interesting explanation, as it suggests that OpenAI’s decision to gatekeep Sora may have directly boosted its rivals.
As of October 17, Meta AI’s app had seen a 15.58 percent increase in daily active users worldwide. During the same period, competing apps like ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity saw declines of 3.51 percent, 7.35 percent, and 2.29 percent, respectively.