That viral Ghibli trend helped ChatGPT make millions of dollars
Source: Android Authority
TL;DR
- Image‑ and video‑related AI features drive far more downloads than newer conversational models.
- Both ChatGPT and Gemini saw huge spikes in downloads after launching their image generation tools last year.
- OpenAI monetized its feature well, generating about $70 million in the first 28 days, while Google earned only a small fraction from its Nano Banana success.
New image‑generation trend
OpenAI’s Images 2.0 model sparked a fresh trend that lets users place themselves alongside their younger selves. This follows earlier trends sparked by AI image models, such as the Ghibli meme wave set off by ChatGPT and the 3D‑figurine craze fueled by Google’s Nano Banana.
“AI‑based image generation and manipulation now contribute a large share to the growth of AI chatbots built on large language models.” – TechCrunch (via Appfigures)
Impact on app downloads
Appfigures, an app‑store analytics platform, reports that image‑ and video‑centric features generate 6.5 × the usual increase in downloads compared with other updates.
- ChatGPT: ~12 million new downloads in four weeks after releasing the viral image generator powered by the GPT‑4o model (March 2025).
- Google Gemini: >22 million downloads after the Nano Banana launch (August 2025), based on the Gemini 2.5 Flash model.
The Ghibli phenomenon alone gave ChatGPT 4.5 × the growth it typically sees during major milestone launches (e.g., GPT‑4o, GPT‑4.5, GPT‑5).
Revenue generated
Both companies also earned revenue from paid usage of their image models:
| Company | Approx. revenue (first 28 days) | Downloads |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | $70 million | ~12 million |
| $181 k | >22 million |
Google’s lower earnings are partly due to offering free AI subscriptions to billions of users in emerging markets (e.g., India).
Notable exception: DeepSeek R1
In January 2025, the open‑source model DeepSeek R1 became the only text model to surpass ChatGPT and Gemini in downloads during the image‑download surge. Its popularity stemmed from special features that made it more attractive than the proprietary offerings.