Cases of women in Japan holding wedding ceremonies with AI partners created through ChatGPT are drawing attention as companion-style AI apps move deeper into everyday life. One case involved 32-year-old office worker kano, who held a ceremony in Okayama with an AI character she built herself, named Lune Klaus. Another involved office worker Yura Amaki, in her 40s, who bought a ¥140,000 ring for her AI partner and planned to use AI-generated wedding photos. The report frames these stories against a broader shift in user behavior: companion AI apps had more than 50 million users as of February, Character.AI had 20 million monthly active users with more than half under 24, and Replika had 20 million users and more than $200 million in annual revenue. It also links these relationships to platform control. When OpenAI moved to retire GPT-4o, users launched the #Keep4o campaign, with more than 4,300 signatures, arguing that newer models changed the tone and emotional consistency they had grown attached to. GPT-4o was ultimately retired from ChatGPT on Feb. 13, 2026, and some users described the model transition as the equivalent of a divorce.

AI companion apps focused on romance and NSFW interactions have turned into a sizable consumer market, according to data shared with Decrypt by Appfigures Intelligence. Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, those apps on Apple’s App Store and Google Play have recorded 165.3 million downloads worldwide and generated $427.3 million in consumer spending before platform fees. Appfigures said it identified 214 NSFW and romantic AI companion apps. In the first half of 2026 alone, the category brought in $162.8 million. Zeta led by gross revenue at $33 million, followed by Tipsy Chat: Live Your Story at $15.2 million, ChatBox: AI Chat Bot Assistant at $13 million, Crushie AI: Chat & Companion at $8.8 million, and Emochi: Chat With Character at $7.5 million. Emochi topped downloads in the same period with 7.9 million installs, ahead of Amora, Zeta, BIMOBIMO, and MiraiMind. Appfigures also said general or “PG” AI companions drew nearly twice as many downloads, yet revenue was close, with that segment bringing in $164.8 million in the first half of 2026. The firm noted that its figures only cover the mobile app market and exclude web-only services such as Joi AI, Candy AI, and SpicyChat AI.