# Viral App Radar: 2025

Published August 1, 2025 by Torii Research (Torii). Updated October 7, 2026. Canonical URL: https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/viral-app-radar-2025

Google AI Studio is the fastest-spreading app of the year, with the top viral score and the quickest time to double.

## What the data says

Google AI Studio leads with a viral score of 6.2 and doubles its users inside an organization in 11.7 days on average, ahead of NotebookLM at 5.8 and OpenAI at 5.3.

DeepSeek spreads almost as fast, doubling in 12.1 days, against a median of 70.5 days across the 30 apps. IT & Security (8) and Productivity (7) are the largest categories.

Most apps are well covered: 26 of the 30 claim at least two of SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR, and none scores 70 or higher on the Shadow IT index. The ones to watch are DeepSeek, Lovable, n8n, and Read AI, which score between 40 and 69 with at most one compliance claim.

This report ranks the apps spreading fastest inside organizations, based on anonymized, aggregated usage data from August 2024 to August 2025.

## At a glance

- Top 3: Google AI Studio (viral score 6.2), NotebookLM (viral score 5.8), OpenAI (viral score 5.3).
- Fastest to double: Google AI Studio (11.7 days), DeepSeek (12.1 days), NotebookLM (26.1 days).

## What kinds of apps

AI-native apps: 33% (10 of the 30 apps). Share of this edition's apps by theme (one theme per app; definitions at https://www.toriihq.com/research/themes):

- Work suites and collaboration: 20% (6 apps: Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Sharepoint, Microsoft Project, Google Calendar, Microsoft forms)
- AI assistants: 17% (5 apps: NotebookLM, OpenAI, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Dropbox Dash)
- Developer and data tools: 10% (3 apps: Microsoft Azure, Gallup, Snowflake)
- Security and IT: 10% (3 apps: SafeBase, LastPass, KnowBe4)
- Sales, marketing, and CX: 10% (3 apps: SalesLoft, Mailchimp, Pendo)
- AI coding and building: 7% (2 apps: Google AI Studio, Lovable)
- Browsers and search: 7% (2 apps: Microsoft Bing, Google Chrome)
- Design and video: 7% (2 apps: Canva, Adobe Stock)
- AI agents: 3% (1 app: n8n)
- AI notes and voice: 3% (1 app: Read AI)
- Personal productivity: 3% (1 app: Notion Mail)
- Ops, HR, and finance: 3% (1 app: Oracle University)

## Rankings

Ranked by viral score, from 0 to 10.

| Rank | App | Category | Theme | AI-native | Viral score | Days to double | Shadow IT index | SOC 2 claimed | ISO 27001 claimed | GDPR claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google AI Studio | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 6.2 | 11.66 | 68 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | NotebookLM | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 5.8 | 26.13 | 47 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3 | OpenAI | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 5.3 | 47.63 | 42 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 4 | ChatGPT | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 5.2 | 39.88 | 34 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 5 | Microsoft Teams | IT & Security | Work suites and collaboration | No | 4.7 | 93.97 | 30 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 6 | Microsoft Outlook | Productivity | Work suites and collaboration | No | 4.7 | 87.52 | 27 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 7 | DeepSeek | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 4.2 | 12.05 | 57 | No | No | No |
| 8 | Microsoft Bing | Sales & Marketing | Browsers and search | No | 4 | 32.71 | 44 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 9 | Canva | Design | Design and video | No | 3.9 | 101.46 | 45 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 10 | Microsoft Azure | IT & Security | Developer and data tools | No | 3.7 | 63.19 | 16 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 11 | Notion Mail | Productivity | Personal productivity | Yes | 3.7 | 27.98 | 66 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 12 | Lovable | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 3.5 | 31.81 | 64 | No | No | No |
| 13 | Dropbox Dash | Productivity | AI assistants | Yes | 3.4 | 33.64 | 34 | Yes | No | Yes |
| 14 | Adobe Stock | Design | Design and video | No | 3.3 | 97.48 | 40 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 15 | Google Chrome | IT & Security | Browsers and search | No | 2.9 | 56.42 | 42 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 16 | Oracle University | Human Resource | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 2.8 | 50.69 | 53 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 17 | Sharepoint | IT & Security | Work suites and collaboration | No | 2.8 | 74.87 | 30 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 18 | n8n | Operations | AI agents | Yes | 2.7 | 58.88 | 57 | No | No | Yes |
| 19 | Read AI | Operations | AI notes and voice | Yes | 2.6 | 81.06 | 62 | Yes | No | No |
| 20 | Microsoft Project | Project Management | Work suites and collaboration | No | 2.6 | 58.37 | 21 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 21 | Gallup | Operations | Developer and data tools | No | 2.5 | 66.21 | 32 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 22 | SafeBase | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 2.3 | 100.03 | 38 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 23 | Google Calendar | Operations | Work suites and collaboration | No | 2.3 | 97.32 | 31 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 24 | LastPass | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 2.2 | 87.88 | 12 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 25 | SalesLoft | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 2.2 | 84.78 | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 26 | Microsoft forms | IT & Security | Work suites and collaboration | No | 2 | 78.32 | 34 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 27 | Mailchimp | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 2 | 86.97 | 13 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 28 | KnowBe4 | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 1.8 | 90.21 | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 29 | Snowflake | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | No | 1.6 | 90.88 | 0 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 30 | Pendo | Analytics & BI | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 1.2 | 104.87 | 23 | Yes | No | Yes |

## Bottom line

Viral adoption in 2025 concentrates in AI-forward productivity and developer tools. Most of these apps claim strong compliance coverage, but four fast-spreading apps with elevated Shadow IT scores claim little: DeepSeek, Lovable, n8n, and Read AI.

## Method

Anonymized, aggregated usage data from companies across industries and sizes, reported as percentages, ranks, and scores. No single organization is identifiable. Methodology: https://www.toriihq.com/research/methodology

## Changelog

- 2026-10-07, Correction: Rewrote the takeaways and summary from this edition's data. The original takeaways and summary were raw analysis notes with typos and internal field names, not readable findings.
- 2026-10-07, Clarification: Standardized the data source description. Torii Research describes its data as anonymized, aggregated usage data, reported as percentages, ranks, and scores.
- 2026-10-07, Update: Moved from toriiresearch.com; title standardized. Torii Research now lives on toriihq.com. It was first published as "Viral App Radar Report: 2025" at toriiresearch.com/reports/viral-app-radar-report-2025.

## How to cite

Torii Research. (2025, August 1). Viral App Radar: 2025 [Data set]. Torii. https://www.toriihq.com/research/reports/viral-app-radar-2025

Data: https://www.toriihq.com/research/data/viral-app-radar-2025.csv and https://www.toriihq.com/research/data/viral-app-radar-2025.json