ByteDance's CapCut and Doubao have led the world in artificial intelligence (AI) app downloads, according to research firm Unique Capital, a sign that the TikTok owner's push into generative AI (GenAI) is starting to pay off.

Unique Capital data shows that CapCut recorded 38.42 million downloads in July, while chatbot Doubao reached 27.45 million downloads, beating ChatGPT with 19.81 million downloads.

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CapCut is used by many TikTok and Instagram users. Photo: Shutterstock

CapCut, a video editing software with GenAI features popular with TikTok, Douyin and Instagram users, had 323 million monthly active users (MAUs) last month. Doubao, which launched in August 2023, recorded 30.42 million MAUs, compared to ChatGPT's 172 million MAUs over the same period.

GenAI are algorithms used to create new content, including audio, images, text, simulations, videos, code.

The rise of CapCut and Doubao among the world's most popular GenAI apps reflects ByteDance's persistence in mobilizing resources to quickly catch up with technological advances in the field.

A few months ago, ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo reprimanded employees for reacting too slowly to ChatGPT, the app that caused an AI craze after it was introduced to the public on November 30, 2022.

According to SCMP sources, in the first quarter of the year, Liang set three GenAI goals for his company: Increase AI talent recruitment, upgrade corporate structure, and improve basic research.

In early August, ByteDance entered China's nascent text-to-video market with its Jimeng app. The desktop version was released in May, with Android and iPhone versions following.

In May, TikTok’s parent company announced a series of large language models (LLMs)—the technology behind ChatGPT and other GenAI services—at prices well below industry rivals, sparking a price war among mainland AI models. The Doubao LLM “family” includes at least eight versions.

According to Unique Capital's report, the most popular GenAI application categories are AI assistants, photo and video editing tools, and AI search.

(According to SCMP)