OpenAI’s AI video app Sora has shot to No. 1 on Apple’s U.S. App Store, a rare ascendance for an invite-only product that is only available in the U.S. and Canada. The quick ascent has landed Sora among Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s own ChatGPT in all-time rankings, which reflect just how strongly consumers are responding to mobile-first video-generation tools.
Early download numbers and App Store rankings for Sora
App intelligence firm Appfigures estimates that Sora landed around 56,000 iOS downloads on day one and 164,000 over its first two days. Despite the gated rollout, Sora quickly crashed into the Top Overall chart and then secured that No. 1 rank, indicating a degree of momentum not typically seen around a new AI creation app.
That is not often what top chart positions on the App Store reward, after all—it’s how new downloads and general interest are rewarded, not whether a game has great ratings or revenue. Sora’s leap is an indication that transcoded AI has value beyond early adopters—particularly when it comes in a lean, mobile-native package.
How Sora compares with AI rivals in day-one downloads
On a U.S. downloads basis (the size of Apple’s App Store in each country differs), ChatGPT and Gemini achieved larger day-one iOS launches with approximately 81,000 for ChatGPT and 80,000 installs across the two platforms for Gemini, according to Appfigures. Sora saw about 56,000—roughly on par with what xAI’s Grok got—while Anthropic’s Claude had around 21,000 and Microsoft’s Copilot roughly 7,000.
Chart trajectories have shown comparable splays: ChatGPT arrived at No. 1 and then stalled out by the second day of its two-week launch window; Grok made it to about No. 4, Gemini to below No. 6, Copilot near No. 19, and Claude maxed out around No. 78. In that context, Sora’s ascension to No. 1 is remarkable—as an invite-only app—and suggests pent-up demand for consumer-grade AI video.
Comparing AI app debuts can be a little tricky, because launch strategies differ: some go global; others stagger access by geography or platform. Appfigures adjusted its analysis to control for those factors, focusing on U.S. and Canadian installs where applicable.
Why AI-generated video works so well on mobile devices
AI video has a built-in distribution flywheel: it’s instantly shareable across social platforms where short, thumb-stopping clips reign. Artists will increasingly be searching for apps that are mobile-first for creating content to put into the publish-ready article, without having to go to a desktop. That is where a dedicated app can be faster than web-first experiences—speed to creation, quick edits, and near-instant posting.
Sora has the advantage: OpenAI already has brand recognition among mainstream users, who have been introduced to AI through ChatGPT. Runway and Luma, as well as other video-forward players, helped prime the market, but Sora’s packaging as a consumer app reduces friction even further and widens the funnel.
Invite-only model and near-term scaling opportunities
The invite model is good for opening the floodgates of demand, but it speaks volumes when you can’t give users what they want right away—and developers get time to build or scale infrastructure and resource systems with safety nets in place. And with access right now limited to the U.S. and Canada, those early figures probably understate near-term demand. Greater accessibility, and potential feature unlocks for creators, could drive higher installs and engagement.
Now, the key metrics to watch are retention and creation frequency: Do new users come back to continue making and sharing clips, and do they iterate with any speed? If Sora can maintain high session counts and a stream of publishable content, then its chart position might not be an early doors spike.
What Sora’s surge means for the fast-moving AI race
Sora’s rise ratchets up competition among the multimodal AI leaders. Google has been boosting Gemini’s image and video skills; meanwhile, Microsoft is making Copilot part of Windows and Office. Anthropic emphasizes reliability with Claude. Sora’s success indicates that consumer adoption could lean toward apps that provide immediate, entertaining utility—particularly when outputs are similar to social video for mental habits.
The next chapter is going to be about quality, controls, and trust: watermarking, provenance, and robust content policies will now become ever more the norm for users and platforms. If Sora can marry state-of-the-art generation with glassine protections and creator-affirming tools, its No. 1 moment could be a fingerhold, not a peak.
For now, the scoreboard is clear: by App Store ranking and early install velocity, Sora lights up over entrenched AI chat apps—as well as suggesting that video might be the new route to mainstream AI on mobile.
