AI App Paid Acquisition Shifts from Installs to Margin-Adjusted Payback

AI apps should scale paid acquisition using margin-adjusted LTV and payback, accounting for inference costs, trial-to-paid conversion, renewals, creative fatigue, cohort lag, and iOS measurement constraints. Zeevron's organic-install and listing-CVR claims, Apple Ads market split, and Agentio's creator-ad benchmarks are directional, but much evidence remains platform- or agency-led rather than controlled.