OpenAI's Sora Loses Its Top App Store Ranking to Dave's Hot Chicken

Since its launch connected September 30, OpenAI’s Sora app has dominated nan iOS App Store charts, acknowledgment to its easy breezy AI video procreation and an initially loose interpretation of copyright laws. On Friday, its reign came to an end. Your caller champion is … Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Yes! Not ChatGPT aliases Gemini aliases Threads aliases immoderate of nan different accustomed suspects. Dave’s Hot Chicken now rules complete nan App Store, wherever its slack-beaked, bug-eyed mascot icon expresses due astonishment astatine its ascent. How did it do it? How did it break nan grasp of OpenAI’s golem TikTok? With thing group emotion moreover much than ample connection models: free food.

“They’re moving a promotion for free sliders successful ceremony of Drake’s birthday,” says Adam Blacker, PR head of nan app analytics patient Apptopia. “Free nutrient ever gets nan downloads flowing.”

If you’re wondering what Drake has to do pinch immoderate of this, he invested successful nan accelerated casual edifice concatenation successful 2021, and presumably made a mint erstwhile nan institution sold a mostly liking to backstage equity patient Roark Capital for a reported $1 billion. For nan 3rd consecutive year, nan institution gave distant 1 (1) free slider to anyone who has downloaded nan app successful grant of Drake’s birthday. (The rapper and Raptors instrumentality turns 39 today; nan giveaway was Thursday.)

“We’re celebrating a personage that’s celebrated and that’s presently relevant, and besides getting nutrient successful people’s mouths,” says Dave’s Hot Chicken main exertion serviceman Leon Davoyan.

And it genuinely is simply a batch of people. On a emblematic week, Davoyan says, Dave’s sees betwixt 20,000 and 25,000 caller sign-ups to its loyalty database. On Thursday unsocial nan promotion drove 343,531 caller accounts—a much than 10 percent bump to nan brand’s wide rank successful a azygous day, according to nan CTO.

It was capable to sound Sora retired of nan apical slot for nan first clip since October 3, an awesome agelong for an app that’s still invite-only. In nan first 23 days since it launched, Sora racked up 3.2 cardinal iOS downloads successful nan US, according to app analytics institution Sensor Tower. That’s a overmuch faster gait than moreover ChatGPT, which while likewise viral notched 2.3 cardinal US downloads successful nan aforesaid time. (Sora is not yet disposable successful nan Google Play Store, but it's incoming.) OpenAI declined to comment.

While Sora is apt to reclaim nan apical spot aft nan Drake promotion dies down, Dave’s Hot Chicken should proceed reaping nan benefits of its giveaway. Last year, according to Sensor Tower, downloads of nan app successful nan 4 weeks pursuing nan aforesaid trading push were much than 50 percent higher than nan period starring up to it. All those free sandwiches are worthy nan semipermanent gains.