AI girlfriends are seven times more popular than AI boyfriends, according to an analysis from App Radar by SplitMetrics, a company specializing in app growth solutions.

The popularity of AI companions has soared, as SplitMetrics found that AI companion apps reached 225 million lifetime downloads in the Google Play Store.

The research has found that AI Girlfriend (506,000) has been downloaded almost seven times more than the app AI Boyfriend (74,000), suggesting that more users are looking for female rather than male AI companions.

The study looked into 38 AI chat apps that offer functions with AI chat for virtual companionship and dating, and are available in the Google Play Store.

Since the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022, downloads in the virtual companionship and dating sector have grown by 49% with 74 million new users.

Dominating the sector is South Korean app SimSimi which accounts for more than half of all downloads in the sector. The top five apps with AI companionship features in the Google Play Store are SimSimi (133 million), AI Chatbot – Nova (20 million), Replika: My AI Friend (15 million), AI Chat RPG Game Use ChatGPT (10 million), AI Chat Ask Assistant – NowAI (5.8 million) and Chai: Chat AI Platform (5.5million).

Europe tops the table in terms of the number of apps developed on the continent (16 apps with an estimated 35 million lifetime downloads), followed by the Americas (9 apps with an estimated 33 million downloads) and Asia (6 apps with an estimated 146 million downloads). Seven apps with an estimated 10 million downloads have an unknown country origin.

Out of the 15 European apps analyzed, the United Kingdom holds the majority with five U.K.-based app developers, followed by Spain with three, and then Poland and Turkey with two apps developed per country.

European developers hold the biggest portion of the market with 43% and American developers follow with 22%, in terms of Android app downloads since the launch of ChatGPT. In terms of lifetime downloads, Asia leads the race with 64% market share, Europe with 15% and America 14%.

Thomas Kriebernegg, general manager of SplitMetrics Agency, said, in a statement, “Generative AI has given birth to all kinds of new app categories but one of its biggest impacts has been to reinvigorate AI dating and companionship. It may surprise people to know that this category of app has existed for a number of years, but since the launch of ChatGPT it has exploded in popularity.”

He added, ““Whether growth in this sector will continue at this pace remains to be seen, but nearly a quarter of a billion users is a very significant milestone which indicates it’s much more than just a novelty or fringe activity. I would expect more app developers to take note of this trend and look at ways this category can be further innovative and monetized.”