In a major shift that underlines the rising mainstream appeal of artificial intelligence tools, ChatGPT has overtaken Instagram and TikTok to become the most downloaded non-gaming app globally in March, according to new data from Appfigures.
The chatbot app hit 46 million new installs during the month, marking its largest monthly growth since launch and a 28% jump over February figures.
The surge in downloads pushes ChatGPT ahead of usual top contenders Instagram and TikTok, which took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively. It also underscores how AI, and OpenAI in particular, is no longer just a tech buzzword but a consumer mainstay.
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While the March spike coincided with upgrades to ChatGPT’s image generation tools and loosened content moderation rules, updates that helped the app go viral thanks to its Ghibli-style meme-making capabilities, Appfigures believes the growth was more about brand dominance than product changes.
“It’s starting to feel like ChatGPT is becoming a verb, a lot like how Google did in the 2000s,” said Appfigures founder and CEO Ariel Michaeli. He pointed out that even conversations around other AI chatbots like Grok or Claude ultimately drive users to ChatGPT because of its name recognition.
That association has helped solidify ChatGPT’s position in popular culture, with many casual users now referring to “ChatGPT” when they mean AI in general — a branding feat that even tech giants struggle to match.
Why This Matters
ChatGPT’s rise to the top of the app charts is about more than numbers. It suggests that OpenAI has successfully bridged the gap between experimental AI and widespread utility. This latest milestone coincides with the growing integration of AI tools across industries, including education, customer service, coding, and content creation.
The app’s massive year-over-year growth, 148% compared to Q1 2021, also puts it in a different league from other AI tools trying to break into the market. While rivals like Anthropic’s Claude have struggled with traction, and DeepSeek or Manus AI remain largely niche, ChatGPT’s dominance shows no signs of slowing.
Even Elon Musk’s Grok, which benefits from his celebrity status and the X platform for distribution, may face an uphill battle. Appfigures noted that the problem for new entrants isn’t necessarily a lack of quality — it’s that users looking for AI just download ChatGPT by default.
Instagram, TikTok Knocked Down — For Now
Instagram, which had held the No. 2 position on the App Store and Google Play in both January and February, fell behind ChatGPT in March. TikTok, usually the top dog, dropped to third place — a shift that reflects changing consumer interest amid regulatory concerns.
TikTok’s earlier download bump this year was driven in part by fears of a U.S. ban. While that threat has eased, with President Trump now reportedly seeking a deal with China to keep the app accessible to American users, uncertainty remains. Instagram, meanwhile, has maintained strong popularity, especially among U.S. teens.
A new survey by Piper Sandler showed Instagram as the most-used social app among American teens, with 87% monthly usage. TikTok followed with 79%, and Snapchat with 72%.
Other social apps continued to hold spots in the global top ten in March, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Threads, and CapCut. The top 10 collectively pulled in 339 million downloads, a notable jump from February’s 299 million.
End of the Road for GPT-4 in ChatGPT
As ChatGPT enjoys a record-breaking month, OpenAI is also preparing to retire the GPT-4 model from the app by April 30, replacing it entirely with GPT-4o, the newer model now set as the default.
GPT-4o has been praised by OpenAI for its improved performance in writing, coding, STEM tasks, and conversational flow. The company says it outperforms GPT-4 in head-to-head evaluations and better follows instructions.
Originally launched in March 2023, GPT-4 cost more than $100 million to train and introduced multimodal capabilities for image and text understanding. It was later followed by GPT-4 Turbo, and now GPT-4o. While GPT-4 will no longer be available in the ChatGPT app, developers will still be able to access it via OpenAI’s API.
The company is also preparing to roll out more models, including the GPT-4.1 family (featuring GPT-4.1-mini and GPT-4.1-nano) and a new reasoning series called o4-mini. These efforts suggest OpenAI is pushing to scale its capabilities even further while keeping the user experience fast and accessible.