Brandwave

AI companion apps:Which are searched most?

In August 2026, Character.AI was the most searched among AI companion apps worldwide, with an estimated 20.8M branded searches and 98.9% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Character.AI98.9%
  2. Nomi0.52%
  3. Replika0.43%
  4. Chai0.09%
  5. Anima0.07%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the apps people chat with AI characters in. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among AI companion apps worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Character.AI. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthCharacter.AINomiReplikaChaiAnima
Oct 202598.9%0.29%0.65%0.11%0.07%
Nov 202598.9%0.29%0.65%0.13%0.07%
Dec 202599%0.29%0.53%0.13%0.07%
Jan 202699%0.29%0.53%0.13%0.06%
Feb 202699%0.29%0.53%0.11%0.07%
Mar 202698.9%0.35%0.53%0.11%0.09%
Apr 202698.7%0.43%0.64%0.13%0.11%
May 202698.7%0.52%0.52%0.13%0.11%
Jun 202698.9%0.52%0.43%0.11%0.09%
Jul 202698.7%0.52%0.43%0.29%0.07%
Aug 202698.9%0.52%0.43%0.09%0.07%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Character.AI

    98.9%

    Held 1st. 20.8M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.2 points.

  2. 2.Nomi

    0.52%

    Held 2nd. 110K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  3. 3.Replika

    0.43%

    Held 3rd. 90.5K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  4. 4.Chai

    0.09%

    Held 4th. 18.1K estimated branded searches, -70.1% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.

  5. 5.Anima

    0.07%

    Held 5th. 14.8K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among AI companion apps worldwide?

In August 2026, Character.AI was the most searched among AI companion apps worldwide, with an estimated 20.8M branded searches and 98.9% estimated Share of Search within this set. Nomi is in 2nd place, 98.4 percentage points behind at 0.52% Share of Search.

Global AI companion apps, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Character.AI98.9%99%Feb 202698.7%Jul 20261st
Nomi0.29% → 0.52%0.52%Aug 20260.29%Nov 20253rd → 2nd
Replika0.65% → 0.43%0.65%Oct 20250.43%Jul 20262nd → 3rd
Chai0.11% → 0.09%0.29%Jul 20260.09%Aug 20264th
Anima0.07%0.11%Apr 20260.06%Jan 20265th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Nomi rose from 3rd to 2nd among AI companion apps worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Replika fell from 2nd to 3rd among AI companion apps worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Character.AI, Chai and Anima held steady: their estimated Share of Search among AI companion apps worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for AI companion apps worldwide in August 2026?

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Nomi worldwide rose 48.6% over 11 measured months, from 74K to 110K in August 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Replika worldwide fell 45.2% over 11 measured months, from 165K to 90.5K in August 2026.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for Chai worldwide fell 33.2% over 11 measured months, from 27.1K to 18.1K in August 2026.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Anima worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 18.1K to 14.8K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Character.AI worldwide fell 17.8% over 11 measured months, from 25.3M to 20.8M in August 2026.

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