Anyone Can Build an App. So Where Are the Users?

Artificial intelligence has made software development easier, and the number of products reaching the market has risen rapidly. Yet an intriguing contradiction is emerging in technology: as building products becomes easier, winning users and keeping them is becoming harder.

Sometimes a new app’s strongest competitor is not another app. It is a habit the user sees no reason to change.

The note-taking app we have used for years, the financial software that gets our work done, the social platform where we spend our evenings… Each already has a place in our lives.

For a new product to succeed, working better is not enough. It needs to give us a reason worth changing our existing routines for.

Interestingly, this is happening precisely when developing a new product is becoming easier than ever.

More software, much the same winners

RevenueCat’s 2026 research paints a striking picture.

Among the subscription apps covered by the study, the number of new product launches has increased roughly sevenfold since 2022.

Yet as of January 2026, apps launched before 2020 still account for 69% of subscription revenue. Those launched in 2025 or later account for just 3%.

Of course, older apps have had years to build their customer bases, while newer ones are still growing. But the issue these figures point to is clear: the gap between bringing a product to market and winning a share of that market is widening.

Established companies’ advantages go beyond their technology. They also have accumulated user habits, trust, data and distribution power.

AI can reduce the cost of developing software. It does not make it equally easy to persuade people to abandon a product they have used for years.

A successful first date, a short relationship

AI itself faces this problem too.

RevenueCat’s data puts the free-trial start rate for AI apps at 8.5%, compared with 5.6% for traditional apps.

But for annual subscription plans, retention after 12 months falls to 21.1% for AI apps, versus 30.7% for other apps.

This comparison does not prove that AI causes churn. The apps serve different purposes and customer groups. Still, it reveals something important: willingness to try a technology does not mean people will make it a lasting part of their lives.

There is another detail here. According to the same research, AI apps can also generate more first-year revenue per paying user.

So the question is not simply how many users a product attracts. How many stay, how much they pay and what it costs to acquire them must be considered together.

A startup may sell extremely well in its first month. But if growth requires a constant stream of new customers, the economic value of that growth may be lower than it appears.

Does every app need to keep surprising us?

The answer depends on why the product is used.

Novelty matters in entertainment apps. People may not want the same experience again and again. That is why it makes sense for a social platform to stay current or a game to develop new experiences.

Finance, healthcare, accounting and operational software are different.

Nobody expects their finance app to surprise them every week. They expect reliable results, fewer errors and an easier working day.

In fact, a constantly changing product can create uncertainty rather than a sense of innovation for its users.

This distinction matters. Some products earn a lasting place by holding people’s attention; others do so by reliably meeting a recurring need.

That is also why judging every app by daily usage can be misleading. Software needed only a few times a year can be highly successful if it is indispensable when that need arises.

Where does real value accumulate?

Andreessen Horowitz’s October 2026 ranking of the top 100 consumer AI apps includes just 11 first-time entrants—the lowest number across seven editions of the research.

It is striking that major players are holding their positions while opportunities to develop new products expand.

This does not mean every new venture will fail. It does suggest that competition will not be decided by technological quality alone.

Becoming part of people’s habits, earning trust, building a community or becoming inseparable from a business process is increasingly important.

Investors, too, need to ask not only how quickly the user base is growing, but how much of that growth will last.

There is a significant commercial difference between many people trying a product once and fewer people not wanting to do without it.

AI is lowering barriers to production in the technology sector. But the resulting abundance of products does not increase users’ time and attention at the same rate.

Perhaps this is the paradox of the new era.

In a world where anyone can build a new app, the real competition is not about the ability to build one.

It is about earning a meaningful place in lives that are already full.