The Most Used AI Apps

Welcome back apprentices! 👋

So apparently, the AI world just had its own version of the Billboard Hot 100 — minus the pop stars, plus a bunch of code and global strategy. 

Whether you're team “What’s a Gemini?” or already coding with something named Lovable (yes, that’s real), this one’s for you. 

The future’s knocking — and it might have an opinion about your calendar app.

In today's email

• The new GenAI Top 100

• Chinese apps are quietly taking AI, globally

• “Vibe coding” is now a thing

• Big Tech is spending billions to win the AI OS war.

• Know which AI tools are actually worth your time.

• + New AI Tool

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Quick News 

🖌️ “Nano-Banana” AI Just Crushed the Image Edit Game. Google just launched Gemini Flash 2.5 Image (aka nano-banana in beta), a next-gen image-editing AI that lets you tweak photos like a pro — using only your words. It climbed to No. 1 on LM Arena’s leaderboard, beating its closest rival by a mile, thanks to its multi-turn edits, style blending, and creepily good character consistency. Oh, and it’s also smart enough to know what plants belong in what setting — which is both helpful and unsettling. At $0.039 per image, it’s cheaper than OpenAI’s offering, and built for viral creativity.

🧠 Meta Hits Reset on Its AI Brain. Meta just tossed its AGI Foundations team into the blender, restructuring its entire AI division into four new units led by Alexandr Wang — now the undisputed boss of all things Meta AI. The company has slapped a hiring freeze across AI, with any exceptions needing Wang’s personal OK (so... good luck). Even Meta legend Yann LeCun now reports directly to him, as FAIR gets repositioned as the “innovation engine” for Meta’s new structure. It’s fast, bold, and probably a little chaotic under the hood.

🗣️ Siri Might Be Getting a Brain Transplant. Apple is chatting with Google about using Gemini to power a total Siri reboot — after internal delays pushed its own upgrade plans back to 2026. Google’s already training a custom Gemini model on Apple’s servers, while Apple also tests two in-house versions: one homegrown, one outsourced. It’s basically an AI bachelor show, and Anthropic and OpenAI are still in the running. A final decision is weeks away — but it might be Apple’s smartest shortcut in years.

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Trends 
Who’s Hot, Who’s Rising, and What’s Actually Getting Used in AI Land

Andreessen Horowitz just dropped its fifth Top 100 GenAI Consumer Apps list, and it’s basically a heat map of where AI is actually being used — not just hyped. 

The results? No surprise: ChatGPT is still the Beyoncé of AI, but Google’s Gemini is making power moves, and a wave of quirky dev tools, dubbed “vibe coding” apps, is growing like mold in a WeWork fridge.

But here’s the real plot twist: 22 of the top 50 mobile AI apps are Chinese-built, and they’re thriving globally — not domestically. And behind the app glitz, tech giants are pouring billions into this space, fighting over the next AI operating system. 

This list doesn’t just show who’s popular. It reveals how AI is changing your phone, your workday, and your brain — whether you asked for it or not.

The Big Three — ChatGPT vs. Gemini vs. DeepSeek

Let’s clear the fog around the top dogs.

ChatGPT is still running laps around everyone. With 1.6+ billion web visits per month — and that’s before counting usage inside Microsoft Word, Excel, and Copilot — OpenAI’s flagship isn’t just a chatbot anymore. Thanks to GPT-5(yes, it’s here), it now listens, speaks, sees, remembers, and arguably nags better than your favorite coworker. This is AI as a personal operating system.

Next up: Gemini, Google’s ambient AI that’s quietly everywhere. Launched just this year, it’s already captured 12% of ChatGPT’s traffic — a wild stat for a product still forming its identity. But Gemini doesn’t need one standalone app. It isthe infrastructure: embedded in Search, Gmail, Android, Docs, and more. It's not loud — it’s inevitable.

Then there’s the stealthy contender at No. 3: DeepSeek, a China-born LLM flying under the radar in the West. Unlike its rivals, DeepSeek’s edge lies in multilingual capabilities, open-source models, and serious code generation chops. It’s gaining traction in Asia and Europe fast — and quietly becoming a favorite among researchers and devs tired of U.S.-centric platforms. It’s not just a model; it’s an export strategy.

Follow the Billions

Still think AI is a bubble? Tell that to the CFOs at Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

Microsoft has dropped $13 billion+ into OpenAI, baking its tech into every inch of Office and Azure.
Google has over 20 AI products live or coming soon, all tied into the Gemini ecosystem.
Amazon? It's building the invisible AI plumbing via Bedrock and AWS — because not everyone wants to build the next ChatGPT, but someone has to power it.

According to The Guardian, global AI spending is on track to exceed $200 billion annually by 2026, much of it going straight into consumer-facing tools and infrastructure. Forget startups — this is trillion-dollar territory.

The Vibe Coding Invasion

Here’s a plot twist no one saw coming five months ago: coding with “vibes” is now a real category. These aren’t just dev tools — they’re coworking buddies with opinions and slick UX.

Lovable (No. 23), Cursor (No. 26), and Replit (No. 41) are leading the charge. Cursor feels like VS Code but with a sarcastic assistant. Replit gives you a full coding environment in the browser, and Lovable… is lovable, apparently. Bolt almost made the list too, and developers are buzzing about it like it's the new Slack.

This isn’t a phase — it’s a shift. Devs aren’t just looking for efficiency anymore. They want tools that think fast, feel good, and work like magic. In other words: AI that doesn’t suck the fun out of the terminal.

The Quiet Giant

One stat that made jaws drop: 22 of the top 50 mobile GenAI apps were made by Chinese developers. And yet, only 3 are primarily used in China.

That’s not a fluke — it’s a strategy. These apps are lean, global, mobile-first, and quietly crushing in regions like India, Southeast Asia, and even the U.S. While U.S. AI companies build platforms, Chinese developers are building exportable experiences — bite-sized, sticky, and affordable.

If you're sleeping on Chinese AI in the consumer space, it’s time to set an alarm.

From Scrolling to Co-Creation

The deeper takeaway? AI isn’t just changing which apps are trending. It’s rewiring how we live digitally. We're moving from searching and scrolling to asking, creating, and collaborating with AI tools that understand context, tone, and intent.

Multimodal models like GPT-5 and DeepSeek-V2 aren’t just responding anymore — they’re co-piloting your work, your learning, even your creative flow. And the effects are industry-wide.

AI will redefine five major sectors by 2026: healthcare, education, finance, manufacturing, and customer service. It’s already diagnosing illnesses, grading assignments, and even writing customer support responses with just enough passive aggression.

Why You Should Care (Even If You’re Not Building Anything)

If you're a founder, this list is your market research. 

If you're a freelancer, it's your roadmap for staying competitive. 

If you're just AI-curious, it’s your field guide to what’s worth your time (and what’s still mostly vaporware).

Consumer AI is no longer a side hustle of tech. It is the main stage — whether you're trying to build, learn, or just survive the next productivity boom.

Try three apps from this list this week — one chatbot, one coding tool, and one wildcard from the mobile side. You’ll either save time, blow your mind… or accidentally fall in love with an AI that critiques your JavaScript style.

Help Your Friends Level Up! 🔥

Hey, you didn’t get all this info for nothing — share it! If you know someone who’s diving into AI, help them stay in the loop with this week’s updates.

Sharing is a win-win! Send this to a friend who’s all about tech, and you’ll win a little surprise 👀

Today’s Toolbox

Unmanaged AI = Unmanaged Risk. Shadow IT Could Be Spreading in Your Org

You wouldn’t allow unmanaged devices on your network, so why allow unmanaged AI into your meetings?

Shadow IT is becoming one of the biggest blind spots in cybersecurity.

Employees are adopting AI notetakers without oversight, creating ungoverned data trails that can include confidential conversations and sensitive IP.

Don't wait until it's too late.

This Shadow IT prevention guide from Fellow.ai gives Security and IT leaders a playbook to prevent shadow AI, reduce data exposure, and enforce safe AI adoption, without slowing down innovation.

It includes a checklist, policy templates, and internal comms examples you can use today.

Download the Shadow IT Prevention Guide

🧪 Test the Prompt

A playground for your imagination (and low-key prompt skills).

Each send, we give you a customizable DALL·E prompt inspired by a real-world use case — something that could help you in your business or job if you wanted to use it that way. But it’s also just a fun creative experiment.

You tweak it, run it, and send us your favorite. We pick one winner to feature in the next issue.

Bonus: you’re secretly getting better at prompt design. 🤫

👑 The winner is…

Last week, we challenged you to test GPT-4o’s visual generation skills with this prompt.

Here’s the WINNER:

Congrats to Sandra for her creation!🥳

Want to be featured next? Keep those generations coming!

🎨 Prompt: The Mind Uplink Chamber

Create a massive, futuristic chamber where individuals connect their minds to an ancient AI network. A lone figure stands on a platform suspended in a vast cylindrical void, facing an enormous neural interface wall made of [organic-tech hybrid material]. Cables rise from the floor like roots, and holographic memories swirl around the chamber. A beam of data-light connects the person’s head to the glowing core.
Style: cinematic sci-fi epic, glowing volumetric lighting, atmospheric haze, hyper-detailed environment with dramatic contrast.

We’ll be featuring the best generations in our next edition!

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