Meta's Muse Spark skyrockets AI app in App Store rankings

This is exactly the momentum Mark Zuckerberg was aiming for. Based on Sensor Tower's data, Meta AI achieved a new peak in daily web traffic within the US. 

Meta's iOS AI app garnered about 46,000 downloads, marking an 87% increase from the previous day in the US Apple App Store.

By Thursday evening, Meta's AI assistant and glasses app ranked 6th in the most-downloaded free apps, a significant leap from its average position of 65 last month.

The market research company noted the surge extended beyond the US.

"The enthusiasm surrounding Meta AI's new AI Model, Muse Spark, also spread internationally as app downloads on iOS in Canada, the UK, France, and Germany increased by 51%, 32%, 27%, and 25% respectively," Sensor Tower mentioned in their report.

Muse Spark is the inaugural AI model launched by Meta Superintelligence Labs. Meta poured billions into developing its AI capabilities, including a substantial $14 billion investment in Scale AI, which resulted in hiring Scale AI's cofounder, Alexandr Wang. Top Wall Street analysts also responded positively, boosting Meta's stock value.

"Muse Spark marks the initial phase of our scaling strategy and signals a complete revamp of our AI initiatives," Meta stated in a communication.

Abe Yousef, a senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower, told Business Insider that, prior to Thursday, Meta's AI app hadn't ranked in the top 10 of the US Apple App Store for over 90 days. Its highest rank, at number 2, was on April 30, 2025, around its launch period.

Meta's surge highlights how AI firms are harnessing viral trends to capture attention in the consumer generative AI space, prominently led by OpenAI's ChatGPT. On Wednesday, OpenAI reported that ChatGPT has 900 million weekly users.

Anthropic's Claude, a major competitor to OpenAI, briefly topped ChatGPT in the US Apple App Store following a wave of public backing after the Pentagon effectively banned Anthropic.

Overall, AI continues its dominance on the App Store. Among the top 6 most-downloaded free apps, four are AI-centric.

Meta stands at 6th, Google Gemini at 5th, and Anthropic's Claude at 3rd. ChatGPT slipped to 2nd place, now trailing behind Augusta National's The Masters Tournament App, which offers exclusive footage of golf's premiere event. The first round for the coveted Green Jacket began on Thursday.