TL;DR:
- Character.AI, an AI app backed by a16z, achieved an impressive milestone of over 1.7 million installations within its first week on the market.
- The app offers customizable AI companions with distinct personalities and allows users to create their own characters.
- Founded by Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, former Google researchers behind the LaMDA language model, Character.AI benefits from their expertise.
- The mobile app outperforms top entertainment apps in Android installs, particularly in markets like Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, and the United States.
- Prior to the mobile app, the web-based Character.AI platform recorded 200 million monthly visits and 29 minutes of average time spent per visit, surpassing ChatGPT’s engagement metrics by 300%.
- Users quickly engage with the app, resulting in an average time on the platform of over two hours after the first interaction.
- Character.AI launches c.ai+, a premium service offering faster response times, access during peak usage, and early access to new features.
- The strategic partnership with Google Cloud enables Character.AI to leverage Tensor Processor Units for faster and more efficient AI model training.
- Third-party data confirms the substantial downloads of Character.AI, indicating genuine consumer demand.
- While Character.AI experiences a slight decline in rankings post-launch, it still maintains a strong position in the market.
- The company denies utilizing significant marketing spend for initial installs, with 99% of downloads being organic.
Main AI News:
In the rapidly growing landscape of AI-powered mobile apps, the demand for AI-based consumer applications continues to soar. OpenAI, the market leader, witnessed remarkable success with its ChatGPT mobile app, amassing over half a million downloads within just six days of its release. Now, another AI app is making headlines for its impressive launch achievements. Character.AI, backed by a16z, proudly announces that it has garnered an astounding 1.7 million new installations in less than a week since hitting the market. This remarkable feat solidifies Character.AI’s position as a rising star in the AI app industry.
Character.AI offers users the unique opportunity to interact with customizable AI companions that possess distinct personalities. Moreover, users have the creative freedom to design and develop their own characters, adding a personal touch to the AI experience. While there are several AI character generators available in today’s app stores, Character.AI stands out due to its exceptional founders and impressive track record.
Founded by Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, both renowned AI experts who previously led a team of researchers at Google, Character.AI benefits from their expertise and experience. Shazeer and De Freitas were instrumental in the development of LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications), a groundbreaking language model that empowers conversational AI experiences. At Google, the founders encountered challenges when it came to deploying AI chatbots to other researchers and the general public, including integrating them with other Google products like Assistant. Their conviction that AI would revolutionize search and various other domains led them to make the bold decision to part ways with Google in late 2021, despite the pleas of CEO Sundar Pichai to continue their work on LaMDA. Consequently, Shazeer and De Freitas established Character Technologies, which now serves as the home for Character.AI.
Since its global launch on May 23, the mobile version of the AI chatbot platform has enjoyed remarkable success among iOS and Android users worldwide. Notably, the app made a significant impact on Google Play, surpassing other leading entertainment apps such as Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video within the initial 48 hours. The trend has continued beyond the launch, with Character.AI experiencing continuous growth in large Android markets like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil. The United States also stands as a prominent market for Android downloads, as confirmed by the company.
One factor contributing to the heightened interest in the mobile app is the widespread popularity of the web-based experience that preceded it. Before the app’s launch, Character.AI’s web app recorded an impressive 200 million monthly visits, with users spending an average of 29 minutes per visit. This figure significantly surpasses the engagement metrics of ChatGPT by an impressive 300%.
Furthermore, Character.AI proudly reports that users quickly become captivated by the app after their initial interaction. As evidence, the company highlights the fact that engagement rates skyrocket to over two hours of average time spent on the platform once users send their first message to a character. To date, users have created over 10 million custom AI characters, underscoring the app’s popularity and appeal.
Despite its remarkable achievements, Character.AI remains a lean team of just 30 individuals. Nevertheless, the company has been remarkably busy this month, launching its premium service, c.ai+. This subscription offers users a range of benefits similar to ChatGPT Plus, including faster response times, access during peak periods, and exclusive early access to new features. In addition, Character.AI recently unveiled a strategic partnership with Google Cloud, focusing on building and training its AI models. The collaboration involves leveraging Google Cloud’s Tensor Processor Units, enabling faster and more efficient training and inference of LLMs (large language models).
While some startups tend to inflate their reported download figures to exaggerate their success, Character.AI’s numbers appear to be genuinely impressive. Third-party app intelligence provider data.ai compared Character.AI’s numbers with their own estimates, and astonishingly, the app’s download count surpassed even the third-party’s figures. Although these estimates may not be entirely accurate due to the novelty of the apps, they undoubtedly validate the initial consumer demand for Character.AI.
Nevertheless, while ChatGPT has managed to maintain its popularity since its launch, currently holding the third position on the top free apps chart in the U.S., Character.AI’s demand seems to have experienced a slight decline post-launch. Presently, the iOS app holds the 13th spot in the U.S. App Store’s Entertainment category. It initially achieved an impressive fourth rank overall in the first two days but has since slipped to the 89th position. On U.S. Android devices, it reached fifth place on May 27 but has now settled at the 27th spot, according to data.ai.
In response to inquiries regarding whether Character.AI utilized a significant portion of its substantial funding for marketing purposes to generate initial installs, the company firmly denies such claims. Character.AI asserts that it launched without a dedicated marketing budget and that an overwhelming 99% of its downloads were entirely organic.
Source: Character.AI
Conclusion:
Character.AI’s remarkable success, with over 1.7 million installs in its first week, signals the growing demand for AI mobile apps in the market. With its customizable AI companions and the ability for users to create their own characters, Character.AI offers a unique and engaging experience. The app’s strong performance in Android markets, combined with the prior popularity of its web platform, demonstrates its appeal among users.
Furthermore, the launch of the premium service c.ai+ and the strategic partnership with Google Cloud position Character.AI for continued growth and innovation. While facing some post-launch ranking decline, Character.AI’s substantial organic downloads confirm its market presence and potential. Overall, Character.AI’s achievements highlight the opportunities and competitiveness in the AI app industry, paving the way for future advancements and market developments.
