AI companion apps have pulled in $427 million, Appfigures says

AI romance is already a real consumer-spending category, with hundreds of millions of dollars flowing through mobile apps. For retail investors watching the app economy, the signal is clear: paid AI use is spreading beyond productivity tools into entertainment, companionship, and digital intimacy.

NSFW, meaning adult-oriented, and romantic AI companion apps on Apple’s App Store and Google Play have generated $427.3 million in worldwide consumer spending since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, according to data Appfigures Intelligence provided to Decrypt. The analytics firm said the same group of apps has been downloaded 165.3 million times.

Appfigures said it identified 214 apps in the category. In the first half of 2026 alone, those apps produced $162.8 million in consumer spending, according to Randy Nelson, Appfigures’ head of insights and media relations.

Nelson told Decrypt that the firm’s rankings reflect either downloads or gross consumer spending before Apple and Google take their platform fees, which he said are typically 30%. Gross consumer spending means the amount users pay inside the app stores before those marketplace cuts are removed.

Which apps are making the most money

Appfigures ranked Zeta as the top-grossing NSFW and romantic AI companion app in the first half of 2026, with $33 million in gross revenue. Tipsy Chat: Live Your Story followed with $15.2 million, while ChatBox: AI Chat Bot Assistant generated $13 million, according to the firm.

• Zeta: $33 million in first-half 2026 gross revenue
• Tipsy Chat: Live Your Story: $15.2 million
• ChatBox: AI Chat Bot Assistant: $13 million
• Crushie AI: Chat & Companion: $8.8 million
• Emochi: Chat With Character: $7.5 million

The download ranking looked different. Appfigures said Emochi led romantic AI companion apps by installs during the same period with 7.9 million downloads. Amora: A Hint of Your Soulmate had 3.6 million downloads, Zeta had 3 million, BIMOBIMO had 2.8 million, and MiraiMind had 2.6 million.

That split matters for understanding mobile app businesses. Downloads show reach, while consumer spending shows whether users are paying enough to support the product. Appfigures said general, or PG-rated, AI companion apps had nearly twice as many downloads as romantic apps in the first half of 2026, yet generated a similar $164.8 million in consumer spending.

The category is bigger than app stores

Appfigures said it sorted apps using store metadata, descriptions, age ratings, and terms tied to romance and adult content. The firm also said its numbers cover the visible mobile market, which means web-only platforms are outside the count.

That exclusion leaves out services such as Joi AI, Candy AI, and SpicyChat AI, according to Appfigures. As a result, the reported $427.3 million does not capture the full AI companion market.

The spending data lands alongside broader signs that some users are treating AI companions as part of their social or romantic lives. In May 2026, researchers at Brigham Young University, the Institute for Family Studies, and the Wheatley Institute found that 15% of partnered U.S. adults ages 18 to 30 regularly used AI romantic companions. Among regular users, 69% said they hid the full extent of that use from their partner, according to the researchers.

Joi AI also drew attention in 2026 for a campaign tied to AI and digital intimacy. In May, the company said it would pay 10 people $2,000 a month to test an AI-guided masturbation feature and record effects on stress, sleep, mood, and confidence. Joi AI said the campaign was designed to gather product feedback and study AI’s role in digital intimacy.

By July 2026, Joi AI said more than 150,000 people worldwide had applied, prompting the company to create a formal selection process.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.