Meta AI’s app downloads and daily users spiked after launch of ‘Vibes’ AI video feed

New data indicates that use of Meta AI’s mobile app for iOS and Android has seen a significant increase. According to a new analysis from market intelligence provider Similarweb, the app’s daily active users across both platforms jumped to 2.7 million as of October 17, up from around 775,000 just four weeks ago. In addition, Meta AI’s app installs are also up, reaching 300,000 new downloads per day, compared with under 200,000 daily downloads a few weeks ago.

For comparison, Meta AI’s app had just 4,000 daily downloads a year ago, on October 17, 2024.

The firm says it hasn’t seen any meaningful correlation in either search or advertising estimates, but notes Meta could be running Facebook or Instagram promotions that wouldn’t be captured in its model.

However, there’s also another possible explanation for the sharp rise: the launch of Meta’s new Vibes feed in September, which introduced short-form AI-generated videos to the Meta AI mobile app.

Meta AI introduced the Vibes feed on September 25, which correlates with the sharp increase in the app’s daily active users on iOS and Android, as seen in the chart below.

Recently, OpenAI’s video generator Sora drew headlines as its app reached the top of the App Store when users rushed to try the new technology. However, Meta AI could have benefited from this launch as well. While Similarweb says its data doesn’t prove cause and effect, it’s possible that the attention to Sora drove some people to try Meta AI, in order to compare the two experiences.

Another possibility is that Meta could be benefiting from Sora’s invite-only status. That is, those who couldn’t try out the OpenAI app may have looked for an alternative to experiment with. This would be an interesting explanation, too, as it suggests that OpenAI’s decision to gatekeep Sora may have directly boosted its rivals.

As of October 17, Meta AI’s app had seen a 15.58% increase in daily active users worldwide, while ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity saw declines of 3.51%, 7.35%, and 2.29%, respectively.