What AI apps do consumers use?

Move over, ChatGPT - there's a whole new crew of AI apps vying for our attention, and they're not just about chatbots anymore.

What is going on here?

a16z dropped their latest bi-annual Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps list.

What does this mean?

They've ranked the top 50 AI-first web products and top 50 mobile apps based on user engagement, showing which AI tools people are actually using and coming back to. Here’re the top takeaways:

• Creative tools are still king. Over half the web apps are for content creation or editing. Image gen is so last season. Video and music tools are the hot new thing, with 4 out of 5 new content gen tools focusing on these. Newbies are mostly in this space too.

• ChatGPT's still king, but challengers are rising: Perplexity (the AI search engine) and Claude are nipping at its heels. On mobile, newcomer Luzia's grabbing Spanish-speaking users. TikTok's parent ByteDance has got 6 apps across web and mobile lists.

• A wild new category appeared: AI for aesthetics and dating. Apps like LooksMax and RIZZ are helping the chronically online get... well, less online.

• Discord's still the AI playground. Half of the top AI Discord servers are newbies, and it's a solid predictor of which apps might blow up next. If an app's killing it on Discord, chances are it'll blow up on web and mobile soon.

• Mobile's all about editing: While web apps focus on generating content, mobile users want to tweak existing pics and vids with AI magic. Legacy creative tools are pivoting to AI to stay relevant.

Why should I care?

This isn't just tech for tech's sake - these tools are changing how millions create, communicate, and even date. The rapid churn of new apps (30% of the list is new!) shows we're still in the Wild West phase of consumer AI. But clear trends are emerging:

1. We want AI to boost our creativity, not just answer questions.

2. Competition's heating up, which means better products for us.

3. The line between "AI app" and "regular app with AI features" is blurring fast.

Whether you're building, investing, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this list is your cheat sheet to what's actually sticking in the world of consumer AI. Time to go download some new toys.