GenAI App Ad Spend Hits $824M as AppsFlyer Reveals First AI Agent Usage Data
Report highlights rapid growth in GenAI apps and deeper integration of AI-driven tools in marketing workflows
SAN FRANCISCO — December 10, 2025 — AppsFlyer has released its annual analysis of mobile app trends, revealing how AI shaped both consumer behavior and marketing strategy in 2025. GenAI adoption accelerated across the app ecosystem, with installs up 16% and category spend reaching $824M across iOS and Android. GenAI apps ranked among the fastest-growing categories of the year, no.1 in Android and no.4 in iOS, reflecting their expanding role in creative, productivity, and AI assistant experiences.
AppsFlyer also analyzed AI agent usage for the first time, identifying how marketers are integrating AI into their performance workflows. The data shows that 57% of agent deployments focused on technical automation such as configuration and data-integrity checks, while 32% supported business optimization. Distinct usage patterns emerged across verticals: gaming marketers used agents to improve efficiency and protect margins, while retail and fintech teams relied on them to scale traffic and volume. These trends point to an early but meaningful shift toward supervised automation, where AI supports decision-making while marketers maintain strategic oversight.
“Many marketers say they are still struggling to measure clear ROI from AI, yet the adoption curve tells a different story,” said Inna Weiner, VP Product, Data and AI, AppsFlyer. “GenAI apps are accelerating in consumer adoption, and behind the scenes marketers are increasingly deploying agents to simplify workflows and improve efficiency. AppsFlyer remains committed to helping teams navigate this rapidly evolving landscape with the clarity and confidence they need to grow.”
Beyond the rise of AI in both apps and marketing workflows, the report outlines several broader trends shaping the app economy in 2025.
Additional Marketing Trends of 2025
- Global UA spend rises 13% to $78B, driven entirely by iOS and mostly by investment from non-gaming apps: iOS user acquisition spend grew 35% while Android remained flat. Non-gaming increased 18% to $53B, and gaming grew only 3% to $25B.
- Remarketing expands as retention gains importance: Remarketing spend grew a significant 37% to $31.3B, now representing 29% of all app marketing investment (up from 25% in 2024). iOS remarketing rose 71%, with notable gains in Transportation (+362%), Travel (+145%), and Finance (+135%).
- Shopping reshapes global UA spend distribution: Shopping investment to acquire new users rose 70% overall and 123% on iOS, driven by China-based ecommerce budgets that materially shifted category and regional share.
- Europe emerges as a standout growth region: Spain, Italy, and the UK recorded some of the largest year-over-year gains globally, while the United States remained the world’s largest app marketing economy at 42% of UA spend.
- Platform performance diverges sharply across markets: iOS paid installs increased 40–85% across Western markets, while Android saw declines in key regions (US –30%, UK –13%) but strong growth in major emerging markets.
Methodology
AppsFlyer’s 2025 Mobile App Trends are based on an anonymous aggregate of proprietary global data covering 32 billion paid app installs of 45,000 apps spanning gaming, ecommerce, finance, lifestyle, and more. The analysis covers user acquisition, remarketing, paid installs, category-level activity, and AI agent usage across both iOS and Android platforms.
About AppsFlyer
AppsFlyer is the Modern Marketing Cloud that helps businesses transform complex data into clarity and growth. A foundation for unified, measurable, autonomous marketing, AppsFlyer breaks down silos across measurement, deep linking, data collaboration, and autonomous AI workflows. For more than a decade, AppsFlyer has been the leader in mobile attribution, trusted by over 15,000 businesses worldwide. To learn more, visit www.appsflyer.com.
