Meta AI is experiencing a massive surge in engagement. As of October 17, daily active users for the Meta AI mobile app on iOS and Android reached 2.7 million, marking a dramatic climb from approximately 775,000 just four weeks prior. According to new data from Similarweb, daily installations have also skyrocketed to 300,000, significantly outpacing the sub-200,000 daily average recorded only weeks ago.
The ‘Vibes’ Catalyst
This growth represents a stark contrast to the platform’s performance a year ago, when daily downloads hovered around a meager 4,000. Analysts point to the September 25 launch of the “Vibes” feed—a feature introducing short-form, AI-generated video content to the app—as a primary driver for the sustained uptick in traffic.
The Sora Effect and Competitive Shifts
While Meta’s internal marketing efforts remain a possibility, the rise of competitor OpenAI’s Sora may have inadvertently acted as a catalyst. As users flocked to the App Store to test Sora, many likely turned to Meta AI for a direct comparison of video generation capabilities. Furthermore, OpenAI’s decision to keep Sora in an invite-only phase may have pushed frustrated users toward Meta’s more accessible alternative.
Market Landscape: Meta AI vs. The Field
The recent performance gap between AI giants is widening. While Meta AI enjoyed a 15.58% increase in daily active users globally by October 17, other major players saw the opposite trend. During the same period, ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity recorded user declines of 3.51%, 7.35%, and 2.29%, respectively.