Key stat: Social media added 108.0 billion hours of mobile app time globally in 2025, more than three times the gain of the next-closest category, genAI/AI assistants (30.3 billion hours), according to a January report from Sensor Tower.

Beyond the chart:

• GenAI's time-spent gains came with a revenue surge that signals where the category is headed next. Time spent in AI assistant apps increased 425% worldwide year over year in 2025, while genAI assistant in-app purchase revenues spiked 254% to $4.33 billion, according to Sensor Tower.
• Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly reaching genAI through platforms they already use. Some 69% of US genAI users engage with AI through social apps, everyday software, and online services, according to Deloitte's 2025 Connected Consumer Survey.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next media planning or attention strategy meeting to show where consumer time actually went in 2025. Use the category breakdown to benchmark your brand's app presence against where growth is happening, and show your team why social media and genAI deserve the most focus heading into 2026.

Related EMARKETER reports

• US Time Spent With Media 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• Social Trends to Watch in 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the January 2026 Sensor Tower report titled "State of Mobile 2026." App engagement estimates were generated using the Sensor Tower Mobile App Insights platform and reflect activity from January 1, 2014-December 31, 2025. Spending data represents gross consumer spend on the Apple App Store and Google Play from paid downloads, in-app purchases, and subscriptions before the app stores take their fee. In-app advertising and third-party purchases are excluded. Download totals are on a per-user basis, and they exclude re-installs, app updates, and downloads of the same app by a user to multiple devices. Sensor Tower is a mobile app analytics platform.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.