{"id":119993,"date":"2026-05-05T12:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/that-viral-ghibli-trend-helped-chatgpt-make-millions-of-dollars\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:20:25","slug":"that-viral-ghibli-trend-helped-chatgpt-make-millions-of-dollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/that-viral-ghibli-trend-helped-chatgpt-make-millions-of-dollars\/","title":{"rendered":"That viral Ghibli trend helped ChatGPT make millions of dollars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-content-wrapper=\"true\">\n<div class=\"e_f\">\n<div class=\"e_Jt\" style=\"max-width:1200px\"><picture class=\"e_Jg\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;aspect-ratio:1200 \/ 675\"><source sizes=\"(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/AI-generated-meme-in-Studio-Ghibli-style.jpeg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/AI-generated-meme-in-Studio-Ghibli-style-64w-36h.jpeg.webp 64w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/AI-generated-meme-in-Studio-Ghibli-style-1000w-563h.jpeg.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/AI-generated-meme-in-Studio-Ghibli-style-675w-380h.jpeg.webp 675w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/AI-generated-meme-in-Studio-Ghibli-style-300w-170h.jpeg.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/AI-generated-meme-in-Studio-Ghibli-style-840w-472h.jpeg.webp 840w\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-container-type=\"content\" class=\"e_Ui e_e e_L\">\n<p>TL;DR<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A recent report shows that image- and video-related AI features result in far more downloads for new models than for new ones.<\/li>\n<li>Both ChatGPT and Gemini saw a huge increase in downloads after the launch of their respective image generation tools last year.<\/li>\n<li>However, while OpenAI monetized it well, generating $70 million, Google only earned a small fraction from its Nano banana success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p>OpenAI recently released its Images 2.0 model, and it has already started a new trend that lets you imagine yourself in the same frame as your younger self. And this isn&#8217;t the first trend started by the new image model, with previous ones including the Ghibli trend started by ChatGPT or the 3D sculpture trend driven by Google&#8217;s Nano Banana. According to experts, these events led to the fastest growth in apps, which in turn, helped generate revenue faster than any other AI model release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p>AI-based image generation and manipulation make a major contribution to the development of AI chatbots based on large language models. This was reported recently (via). <em><a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/05\/04\/image-ai-models-now-drive-app-growth-beating-chatbot-upgrades\/\">techcrunch<\/a><\/em>) By <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/appfigures.com\/resources\/insights\/image-model-updates-drive-more-ai-app-downloads\">appfigure<\/a>An app store optimization and analytics platform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_f\">\n<div class=\"e_Jt\" style=\"max-width:2560px\"><picture class=\"e_Jg\" style=\"padding-top:56.29%;aspect-ratio:2560 \/ 1441\"><source sizes=\"(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-scaled.jpg.webp 2560w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-64w-36h.jpg.webp 64w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1000w-563h.jpg.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1918w-1080h.jpg.webp 1918w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1536w-864h.jpg.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-675w-380h.jpg.webp 675w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-300w-170h.jpg.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1280w-720h.jpg.webp 1280w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-840w-472h.jpg.webp 840w\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><img class=\"e_Kg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw\" title=\"AppFigure OpenAI ChatGPT vs Google Gemini Nano Banana Download\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1918w-1080h.jpg 1918w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-840w-472h.jpg 840w\" alt=\"AppFigure OpenAI ChatGPT vs Google Gemini Nano Banana Download\" src=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-download-scaled.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p>Although AI chatbots were on the rise before the new model was released with conversational features, complex problem-solving, and voice-based features, image-related tools have driven massive downloads for these apps. According to data from AppFigures, ChatGPT earned nearly 12 million new downloads in just four weeks after introducing the viral image generator powered by its GPT-4O model in March last year, which set the internet on fire with its Ghibli image trend. Similarly, Google&#8217;s Gemini received over 22 million downloads after the release of Nano Banana based on Gemini 2.5 flash model in August last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_pk e_ok\" data-container-type=\"content\">\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the best of <em>Android Authority<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_em\"><picture class=\"e_im e_jm e_Jg\" style=\"padding-top:31.51%;aspect-ratio:676 \/ 213\"><source sizes=\"9.375rem\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png.webp 676w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x-64w-20h.png.webp 64w\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><img class=\"e_Kg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"9.375rem\" title=\"Google Preferred Source Badge Lite@2x\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png 676w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x-64w-20h.png 64w\" alt=\"Google Preferred Source Badge Lite@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/><\/picture><picture class=\"e_im e_Jg\" style=\"padding-top:31.51%;aspect-ratio:676 \/ 213\"><source sizes=\"9.375rem\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png.webp 676w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x-64w-20h.png.webp 64w\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><img class=\"e_Kg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"9.375rem\" title=\"Google Preferred Source Badge Dark@2x\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png 676w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x-64w-20h.png 64w\" alt=\"Google Preferred Source Badge Dark@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p>According to the platform&#8217;s findings, as a result of the introduction of image and video-centric features and models, the number of downloads increased by 6.5 times the normal. OpenAI&#8217;s Ghibli event led to a 4.5x increase in ChatGPT otherwise seen during milestone launches like GPT-40, GPT-4.5, GPT-5.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_f\">\n<div class=\"e_Jt\" style=\"max-width:2560px\"><picture class=\"e_Jg\" style=\"padding-top:56.29%;aspect-ratio:2560 \/ 1441\"><source sizes=\"(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-scaled.jpg.webp 2560w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-64w-36h.jpg.webp 64w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1000w-563h.jpg.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1918w-1080h.jpg.webp 1918w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1536w-864h.jpg.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-675w-380h.jpg.webp 675w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-300w-170h.jpg.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1280w-720h.jpg.webp 1280w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-840w-472h.jpg.webp 840w\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><img class=\"e_Kg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw\" title=\"AppFigure OpenAI ChatGPT vs Google Gemini Nano\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1918w-1080h.jpg 1918w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-840w-472h.jpg 840w\" alt=\"AppFigure OpenAI ChatGPT vs Google Gemini Nano\" src=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Appfigures-OpenAI-ChatGPT-vs-Google-Gemini-Nano-Banana-scaled.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p>AppFigures claims that in addition to additional download statistics, OpenAI and Google also earned revenue from the paid model. OpenAI, which saw enough demand to eventually limit image creation to paid models, is believed to have generated nearly $70 million in revenue in the first 28 days after launching the image model. In contrast, Google is estimated to have earned only $181,000 despite accumulating nearly double the downloads. Notably, Google also provided free AI subscriptions to billions of users, especially in growing markets like India, which may have impacted its revenues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e_e e_L\">\n<p>An exception was the release of the popular open-source model DeepSeek R1 in January 2025. It was the only text model that received more downloads than ChatGPT and Gemini during the image download rush phases, and received enough traction for its special features that made it more attractive than ChatGPT and Gemini.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-container-type=\"content\">\n<div class=\"e_Cc e_L\">\n<p>Thank you for being a part of our community. Please read our comment policy before posting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TL;DR A recent report shows that image- and video-related AI features result in far more downloads for new models than for new ones. Both ChatGPT and Gemini saw a huge increase in downloads after the launch of their respective image generation tools last year. However, while OpenAI monetized it well, generating $70 million, Google only<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[2202,4071,28507,774,4006,870,1261],"class_list":["post-119993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-devotionals","tag-chatgpt","tag-dollars","tag-ghibli","tag-helped","tag-millions","tag-trend","tag-viral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120027,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119993\/revisions\/120027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}