ByteDance’s CapCut, Doubao top global AI app downloads, outpacing ChatGPT: report

Chatbot Doubao recorded 27.45 million downloads in July to outperform ChatGPT, which had 19.81 million downloads in the same period

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ByteDance-owned video-editing app CapCut, which has GenAI features, has been widely adopted by TikTok, Douyin and Instagram users. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 21 Aug 2024

Social media giant ByteDance’s CapCut and Doubao led global artificial intelligence (AI) app downloads in July, according to industry research firm Unique Capital, in a sign that the TikTok owner’s generative AI (GenAI) push is paying off.

Video-editing app CapCut recorded 38.42 million downloads in July, while chatbot Doubao achieved 27.45 million downloads to outperform OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which had 19.81 million in the same period, according to Unique Capital’s report published on Tuesday.

Known as JianYing in mainland China, CapCut – an editing software with GenAI features widely adopted by TikTok, Douyin and Instagram users – had 323 million monthly active users (MAUs) in July, the report said. Doubao, launched in August last year, had 30.42 million MAUs in July, compared to ChatGPT’s 172 million in the same period.

GenAI are algorithms used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations and videos.

ByteDance introduced its Doubao chatbot in the second half of last year. Photo: Shutterstock

The rise of CapCut and Doubao among the world’s most widely used GenAI apps reflects the tenacity of Beijing-based ByteDance, the world’s largest unicorn, in mobilising resources to quickly catch up with advances in this field.