That Viral Ghibli Trend Helped ChatGPT Make Millions of Dollars

OpenAI recently launched its Images 2.0 model and has already started a new trend that allows you to imagine yourself in the same frame as your younger self. And this is not the first trend caused by new image models, as previous ones, such as the Ghibli trend started by ChatGPT or the 3D figures trend driven by Google’s nanobanana. According to experts, these phenomena also led to the fastest growth of applications, which, in turn, helped generate revenue faster than any other AI model.

AI-based image generation and manipulation greatly contribute to the growth of AI chatbots based on large language models. This was recently reported (via TechCrunch) by Application Figuresan app store analytics and optimization platform.

While the launches of new models with conversation capabilities, complex problem solving, and voice-based features previously drove the growth of AI chatbots, image-related tools have largely driven the downloads of these apps. According to data from Appfigures, ChatGPT racked up nearly 12 million new downloads in just four weeks after introducing the Viral image generator powered by its GPT-4o model. last year in March, which set the internet on fire with its trend of Ghibli images. Similarly, Google’s Gemini garnered more than 22 million downloads after the launch of Nano Banana, based on the Gemini 2.5 Flash model, in August last year.

According to the platform’s results, the introduction of features and models focused on images and videos, on average, resulted in a 6.5 times increase in the number of downloads. OpenAI’s Ghibli phenomenon generated 4.5 times the growth that ChatGPT experienced during major releases such as GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, GPT-5.

In addition to additional download numbers, OpenAI and Google also generated revenue from paid models, Appfigures claims. OpenAI, which saw enough demand to eventually limit imaging to paid models, is believed to have generated around $70 million in revenue in the first 28 days after the imaging model launched. On the other hand, it is estimated that Google, despite accumulating almost twice as many downloads, has only earned about $181,000. Notably, Google also offered free AI subscriptions to billions of users, especially in growing markets like India, which may have impacted its revenue.

One exception was the release of the popular open source model. R1 Deep Search in January 2025. It was the only text model with more downloads than ChatGPT and Gemini during their image download phases, and gained enough traction for its special. features that made it more attractive than ChatGPT and Gemini.