AI powered Apple's App Store growth, with AI app transactions rising 4 times faster than non-AI apps

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

AI was the primary driver of Apple's App Store growth last year. More than four in 10 of the top-grossing apps featured AI capabilities, and those apps posted transaction growth four times higher than other popular titles.

Apple said Thursday, citing research by global consultancy Analysis Group, that more than 40 of the top 100 revenue-generating apps on the App Store last year offered consumer-facing AI features.

According to the report, apps with AI capabilities posted transaction growth rates four times higher than those without.

Apple highlighted SmartGym, which uses AI to deliver personalized workout plans, and Copi, which supports real-time meeting translation and summarization, as leading examples.

The findings suggest AI has moved beyond a simple feature add-on to become a core revenue driver, expanding user bases and boosting in-app spending.

The report also revealed differences in app spending patterns across countries.

Shopping held the largest share of spending by Apple device users in most markets, including South Korea.

However, South Korea diverged from other countries in the second-largest spending category.

In major markets including the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, travel apps ranked second by transaction volume — but in South Korea, food delivery and pickup services took that spot.

By category, South Korean users spent the most on shopping at $12.5 billion (about 19 trillion won), followed by food delivery and pickup at $4.3 billion (about 6.6 trillion won) and travel at $3 billion (about 4.6 trillion won).

Apple said total worldwide transactions through the App Store ecosystem reached a record $1.4370 trillion (about 2,200 trillion won) last year.

That is roughly three times the $513 billion recorded in 2019.

Apple said about 90 percent of total transactions fall outside its commission structure. Physical goods sales and advertising revenue that developers bring in directly are not subject to fees, the company said, adding that commissions of up to 30 percent apply only to digital content and services.