Apple Is Way Behind in AI—and Still Making a Fortune From It: WSJ

Distribution is hard, distribution is gold.

Apple is on pace to surpass $1 billion in artificial-intelligence revenue this year, a tidy sum that demonstrates the company’s AI advantage even as it struggles to deliver an AI strategy of its own.

That means they typically pay the App Store tax, roughly 30% of subscription fees in the first year and 15% a year thereafter, though rates vary by country. Generative AI apps paid Apple nearly $900 million in App Store fees in 2025, according to the analysis firm AppMagic.

Three-fourths of the revenue Apple rakes in from GenAI apps in its App Store comes from ChatGPT, according to AppMagic. Next, at about 5%, is xAI’s Grok. Apple’s revenue from GenAI apps rose from about $35 million in January 2025 to a high of $101 million in August. Sales have fallen from their peak, partly because ChatGPT downloads have declined, according to the data.

Source: Wall Street Journal

NB: I always thought Apple would take 20% of all AI spending…

The rest of this post is for Asymco members. Continue reading on asymco.com.