ChatGPT’s third-party apps are losing revenue

When ChatGPT above and it didn’t have a mobile app, it was clear that someone had to “fix” that, and it didn’t take long before a flurry of third-party apps hit the market.

Ask AI and Genie became two of the most popular and made a lot of money in a very short period of time.

In May, OpenAI launched the official ChatGPT app, and there was the obvious question – would people continue to pay these third-party developers?

Yes, people continued to pay third-party developers because for many, especially those outside of the tech industry, ChatGPT was just a name, and any AI app was good.

AppFigures estimates that Ask AI’s net revenue in April was $3.8 million. Genie earned $1.7 million in April, and all of that is net revenue, which is what’s left for publishers after Apple and Google take their cut.

In May, both apps grew to $4.5 million and $2.1 million, massive numbers for ChatGPT’s favored apps.

The official ChatGPT appeared on the App Store in May, and the competition split in two directions. Genie started to decline while Ask AI’s revenue continued to grow.

A few months passed and the situation became not so rosy. Although Ask AI’s revenues are larger than the official ChatGPT app, they fell hard in September and the decline is predicted to continue in October.

In numbers, Ask AI’s net revenue of $4.6 million in August dropped to $3.9 million in September. Genie’s net revenue of $2.1 million in May is now down to just $400k.

Paid advertising distributed through various channels played a big role in the growth of both companies, but it seems to have tapered off recently. I wonder if this decline is a self-fulfilling prophecy or a reaction to declining ROI?