AI Companion Statistics 2026: The Data
2026-06-05 · 6 min read
AI companions went from curiosity to mass-market in about three years. Here are the key statistics that capture how big, how fast, and how consequential the shift has been — gathered in one place, each with a source. Use them, cite them, or just get oriented.
Market size & growth
The number of AI companion apps grew roughly 700% between 2022 and mid-2025 — from about 16 to over 128 in active distribution.
The global AI-companion market is projected to grow from about $49 billion in 2026 to more than $552 billion by 2035.
MIT Technology Review named AI companions one of its 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2026.
Users & demographics
Character.AI reports around 20 million monthly users, with more than half under the age of 24.
Adoption among teens is striking: in one US survey, 72% of 13–17-year-olds had used an AI companion and over half were regular users. In the UK, one in five boys aged 12–16 had been in or knew a peer in an AI 'relationship.'
Reported scale of major apps includes Character.AI (~50M downloads), Replika (~30M), Candy AI (~50M registered users) and OurDream AI (~36M monthly visits).
The loneliness link
In one study of students using Replika, 90% reported experiencing loneliness — well above the comparable national figure of 53%.
A majority of users in multiple surveys report benefit: in one, 63% said their companion reduced loneliness or anxiety. A Harvard Business School working paper found AI companions measurably reduced loneliness.
Safety & breaches
Security researchers found 14 critical and 311 high-severity vulnerabilities across 17 popular companion apps.
Documented breaches include Muah AI (~1.9 million records, 2024) and Chattee Chat & GiMe Chat (~43 million messages and 600,000+ images from 400,000+ users, October 2025).
Next steps
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