A new report by Similarweb, one of the world’s leading sources for internet search data, finds that the number of new apps launched is skyrocketing thanks to AI tools, but usage is falling. The authors that monthly new app launches across iOS and Android reached nearly 120,000 in early 2026, a rise of 50% year over year. Similarweb noted that agentic coding tools and AI-powered workflows make big reductions in time, cost and expertise required to build software.
However, that has not resulted in more people using more apps. User attention, app store visibility, and engagement remain “highly concentrated among a relatively small group of established platforms.” In other words, there are many more apps that result in very little for builders and owners.
This observation is mirrored by data presented by Gary Marcus, who runs an AI-skeptic Substack worth following, if you want to see past the hype.
Marcus cites FT data, noting that the number of new apps released on a monthly basis in the Gen AI era has nearly doubled from 2024, yet usage has actually declined.
“Rather than democratizing success, the AI era appears to be intensifying winner-takes-most dynamics,” wrote Sam Sheridan and Laurie Naspe, the authors of the Similarweb report. Breaking through to customers and clients is the challenge now, not creating the app.
Marcus notes from various sources that the trend in agentically created apps reflects similar trends in books and music, ie, people are writing and producing songs and books using AI at a very fast pace. Yet, not many people like it.
What does this mean for businesses in a B2B marketing context? The answer is much like any basic content question: relevance. Does this app do something valuable or does it focus too much on reiterating marketing messages that one can see in brochures or online? Value for the user is the key.
The lesson here would seem to be that using AI agentic tools to create apps is the easy bit – working out what the app will do for your user is the important bit. Funnily enough, the fastest growing category of app releases is in the area of productivity.
Where the productivity power of generative AI might be useful in a B2B marketing setting is to think of multiple apps depending on customer journey or customer type. Each have their own distinct needs.