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Saudi Arabia's Digital App Market Thrives with Government Services and AI Leading the Charge by 2025

A new report, 'Saudi Internet 2025,' reveals that communication and government service apps are incredibly popular in the Kingdom. What's really exciting is the significant rise of AI applications, which are quickly becoming some of the most downloaded in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Arabia's Digital App Market Thrives with Government Services and AI Leading the Charge by 2025

The digital app market in Saudi Arabia is really picking up speed, showing how quickly people are adopting smart services. Folks are using digital platforms more and more for communication, government services, shopping, and finance. At the same time, AI apps are becoming super popular and are now among the most downloaded, all thanks to how much we rely on digital solutions in our daily lives. The "Saudi Internet 2025" report, released by the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST), highlighted the key trends in internet use across the Kingdom. It included a list of the most used and downloaded apps across several sectors. The report clearly showed that social media apps are still dominant, but there's also a growing presence of AI apps and digital government services. Social media apps topped the usage list, with WhatsApp leading the pack. Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram followed, then X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Jako. When it came to the most downloaded apps on smart devices, AI and digital services really stood out, alongside banking apps. ChatGPT took the top spot, followed by Nafath, TikTok, Absher, STC Bank, Keeta, Baraq, Google Gemini, Snapchat, and Al Rajhi Bank. For government apps, official digital platforms continued to strengthen their presence among users. Leading this category were Nafath, Absher, Nusuk, Tawakkalna, GOSI, Sehhaty, Najiz, Sabel Online, Madrasati, and Balady. This really shows how much people are relying on digital channels to access government services. The delivery and restaurant sector saw strong competition among digital apps. Keeta, Ninja, Hungerstation, Jahez, Barakah, Toyou, Kudu, Albaik, McDonald's, and The Chefs topped the download charts here. In the e-commerce sector, Trendyol, Shein, Noon, Amazon, Haraj, AliExpress, Jarir Bookstore, Nice One, eXtra, and Alibaba.com were among the most downloaded apps. This growth is fueled by the expansion of e-commerce and changing shopping habits among consumers. As for financial apps, STC Bank, Baraq, Al Rajhi Bank, Dall 360 Bank, Tabby, Tamara, UrPay, AlAhli Bank, Alinma Bank, and Neo led the way, indicating a growing reliance on digital banking and payment services. In the mobility sector, Uber, Bolt, Jeeni, Darb, Careem, inDrive, Kayan, Wassalni, Ego, and Ujra were the most downloaded apps, reflecting the continued expansion of smart transportation services. AI applications made a significant appearance in the report, with ChatGPT leading the list. It was followed by Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, Perplexity, Manos AI, Google Notebook LM, and Humane. This clearly shows the increasing use of AI tools among users in Saudi Arabia.

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