AI Girlfriend & AI Companion Statistics 2026
As of: July 2026 · Every figure with a source · Citing with a link is expressly permitted
AI companions have gone from a niche curiosity to a mass market: over 220 million app downloads worldwide, 88 percent download growth in a single year, and platforms with hundreds of millions of users. This page gathers the most important documented numbers in the industry, compact, sourced, and updated regularly.
The most important numbers at a glance
cumulative downloads of AI companion apps worldwide (App Store + Google Play, as of mid 2025)
growth in companion app downloads in the first half of 2025 versus the prior year (~60M downloads in 6 months)
projected consumer spending on AI companion apps in 2025 alone
Replika installs (2025), up from 10M in 2023, a fourfold increase in two years
users of Xiaoice (China), the largest companion system in the world
adults in Germany feel very lonely according to the federal government's loneliness barometer, with markedly higher rates among young adults since the pandemic
Usage: from niche hobby to daily routine
By mid 2025, AI companion apps had been downloaded more than 220 million times according to Appfigures data; the first half of 2025 alone added around 60 million downloads, a gain of 88 percent over the same period the year before. Consumer spending inside these apps reached about 120 million US dollars in 2025. What stands out is the intensity of use: companion apps are among the categories with the longest daily session times, because users come not for an answer but for a conversation.
The biggest platforms
The largest companion system in the world is Xiaoice from China, with around 660 million users. Snapchat's My AI reaches roughly 150 million people. Replika, the western pioneer (launched in 2017), grew from 10 million installs in early 2023 to over 40 million in 2025. Character.AI reports tens of millions of monthly active users with above-average session lengths. The German-speaking world remains structurally underserved here: practically every major provider is designed for English, and in the big app comparison no international platform offers native German.
Market forecasts: big growth, wide ranges
How big the "AI companion market" is depends heavily on where you draw the line: count only companion apps and analysts talk about single-digit billions; include conversational AI platforms and the 2025 estimates range from around 37 billion US dollars (Precedence Research) to far beyond. The forecasts agree on the trend: annual growth rates around 30 percent and a tenfold increase in volume by 2035. For users this mainly means more providers, more competition, and a greater need for honest comparisons.
Germany & DACH: demand meets a supply gap
According to the federal government's loneliness barometer (BMFSFJ), about one in ten adults in Germany feels very lonely; among young adults the figures have sat well above the long-term average since the pandemic. At the same time, through 2026 there were almost no natively German-speaking companion offers, because the international platforms merely translate. Ailina is the first natively German-speaking AI companion platform: over 70 characters, 11 German dialects and speaking styles, image and video generation, plus GDPR-compliant data storage in the EU. You can try it for free and without signing up to see how it feels day to day.
Want to use these numbers? Please do.
Journalists, bloggers, and researchers are free to quote any of the numbers and phrasing on this page; all we ask is a source credit with a link to ailina.chat/ki-freundin-statistiken. For questions or for insights on the German-speaking market: get in touch.
Sources
- Appfigures / TechCrunch: “AI companion apps on track to pull in $120M in 2025” (downloads, spending, growth) — techcrunch.com
- Precedence Research: “AI Companion Market Size” (market volume & forecast through 2035) — precedenceresearch.com
- Provider and press figures on user numbers for Replika, Character.AI, Xiaoice, and Snapchat My AI (2023–2026)
- BMFSFJ: loneliness barometer (long-term data on loneliness in Germany) — bmfsfj.de
- Our own platform data: Ailina.chat (number of characters, dialects, feature scope)
Frequently asked questions about the numbers
How many people use AI companion apps?
AI companion apps were downloaded more than 220 million times worldwide by mid 2025 (App Store + Google Play, source: Appfigures/TechCrunch). The biggest individual platforms: Xiaoice in China with around 660 million users, Snapchat's My AI with roughly 150 million, Replika with over 40 million installs, and Character.AI with tens of millions of monthly active users.
How big is the AI companion market?
Depending on how the category is defined, analysts put the 2025 market somewhere between roughly 37 billion and over 100 billion US dollars, with annual growth rates around 30 percent. Pure in-app spending on companion apps came to about 120 million US dollars in 2025; most of the market comes from platform and enterprise revenue.
How common are AI girlfriends in Germany?
The German-speaking market is underserved by international standards: the major providers (Replika, Character.AI, Candy.AI) are built for English and offer German only as a translation. Ailina is the first natively German-speaking AI companion platform, with over 70 characters and 11 dialects. At the same time, the federal government's loneliness barometer shows persistently elevated loneliness, especially among young adults, one of the drivers of demand.
Are AI companion apps still growing?
Yes, strongly: in the first half of 2025 downloads grew by 88 percent year over year to around 60 million, and Replika quadrupled its install base from 10 million (early 2023) to over 40 million (2025). Forecasts expect the market to grow tenfold by 2035.