In brief
- NSFW and romantic AI companion apps have generated $427.3 million in consumer spending worldwide, according to Appfigures Intelligence.
- The category includes 214 apps that have been downloaded more than 165 million times since late 2022.
- Users spent $162.8 million on romantic AI companions in the first half of 2026 alone.
People are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on AI girlfriends, and the trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
According to data provided to Decrypt by analytics firm Appfigures Intelligence, NSFW and romantic AI companion apps across Apple’s App Store and Google Play have generated 165.3 million downloads and $427.3 million in consumer spending worldwide since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
“The rankings are categorized by type and reflect either downloads or gross consumer spending before Apple/Google extract their platform fees, typically 30%,” Head of Insights and Media Relations at analytics firm AppFigures, Randy Nelson, told Decrypt.
According to Nelson, Appfigures identified 214 NSFW and romantic AI companion apps, which generated $162.8 million in consumer spending during the first half of 2026.
Among NSFW and romantic AI companion apps, Zeta ranked first by gross revenue in the first half of 2026, generating $33 million, according to Appfigures. Tipsy Chat: Live Your Story, followed with $15.2 million, ChatBox: AI Chat Bot Assistant with $13 million, Crushie AI: Chat & Companion with $8.8 million, and Emochi: Chat With Character with $7.5 million.
Emochi was the most downloaded romantic AI companion app during the same period, reaching 7.9 million installs. Amora: A Hint of Your Soulmate followed with 3.6 million downloads, Zeta with 3 million, BIMOBIMO with 2.8 million, and MiraiMind with 2.6 million.
While general or “PG” AI companions had nearly twice as many downloads, romantic apps generated almost the same amount of revenue. In the first half of 2026, PG/general apps brought in $164.8 million. The data comes as more people are turning to AI chatbots for companionship, romance, and relationships—including a growing “digisexual” subculture centered on emotional connections with AI companions.
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, with 69% of regular users saying they hid the full extent of their use from their partner.
That same month, AI companion platform Joi AI first announced it would pay 10 people $2,000 a month to test an AI-guided masturbation feature and document its effects on stress, sleep, mood, and confidence. The company said the campaign was intended to collect product feedback while exploring AI’s role in digital intimacy.
By July 2026, Joi AI said the campaign drew more than 150,000 applicants worldwide, forcing the company to create a formal selection process.
Appfigures said it categorized the apps using store metadata, descriptions, age ratings, and terms linked to romance and adult content. However, the figures only cover the visible mobile market but exclude web-only platforms such as Joi AI, Candy AI, and SpicyChat AI.