AI driving faster innovation in mobile app development

China's mobile application market is expected to maintain its overseas momentum, as Chinese players show increasing innovation in the global market, said Wang Wei, general manager of mobile analytics firm AppsFlyer Greater China.

Wang said while gaming remains a stable cornerstone of China's app exports, non-gaming sectors — particularly financial technology — are leading the growth. Tools, social platforms and general entertainment apps are also expanding rapidly.

"Short dramas, which gained traction last year, continue to flourish. Meanwhile, the rise of AI-powered tools and social products signals additional growth opportunities," Wang said, adding that if there are no major disruptions, these trends are expected to continue next year.

Latest data from AppsFlyer show that Chinese apps were installed 15 billion times globally from the first quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of this year. That is the equivalent of two apps from Chinese developers being installed by every global user on average.

The upward trajectory has continued this year, with total installs increasing in the first three quarters by 11 percent year-on-year, a significant feat amid global economic uncertainty.

While gaming has traditionally dominated outbound Chinese apps, its share has dropped from 70 percent three years ago to 50 percent.

"This decline isn't due to a shrinking gaming market, but reflects faster growth in non-gaming sectors like finance, social apps, tools and entertainment," Wang noted.

As more and more Chinese companies go overseas, they are also leading innovation in foreign markets, influencing industry trends, and one notable example is the shift in user acquisition strategies, he said.

Previously, the standard method was app-to-app advertising, where users saw ads within one app that directed them to download another. However, iOS privacy policies disrupted this path.

"In response, Chinese firms pioneered web-to-app strategies, guiding users from a web page to an app download landing page, which makes it particularly effective amid privacy challenges," Wang said. "This innovative approach has helped Chinese companies mitigate growth pressures and achieve significant gains."

In an earlier interview with China Daily addressing concerns about the potential slowdown of China's mobile internet market, Ronen Mense, president and managing director of AppsFlyer Asia-Pacific, said that not every country in the world can replicate China's success in digital development, and so will the case be in the AI era.

Expressing confidence about the Chinese market, Mense said he expected AppsFlyer to show stable growth in China this year and is looking forward to greater growth momentum from the market.

Mense said the company has been lucky to focus on China from the very beginning, making the nation's growth story intricately linked to the company's for a decade.

"With China's mobile internet leadership and robust engineering talent pool, AppsFlyer has gained great momentum here in the Chinese market," he said.

He said that AppsFlyer's vision to prioritize the Chinese market years ago has paid off.

"As we help Chinese companies to grow overseas, Chinese companies also helped us to develop, which are bringing mutual benefits and wins," he added.

Despite an economic slowdown and geopolitical challenges on a global scale, Mense said China will continue to be "critical" for AppsFlyer.

"China will continue to be important for us, even in the next 10 years," he emphasized.

On the company's growth expectations in China over the next year or two, Mense projected an annual growth of 15 to 20 percent in the Chinese market.

"It is driven largely by advancements in AI," he explained. "AI is a driving force, which will enable companies to innovate with fewer resources and at a faster pace."

To meet such a need, the company is committed to leveraging AI in its services, including the development of AI-driven products like creative analytics and fraud detection tools.