The latest Ramp AI Index reveals that US companies are spending less on artificial intelligence while simultaneously using more of it. Economist Ara Kharazian attributes this trend to price reductions from major providers and the adoption of cheaper, more efficient standard models. Usage has climbed by roughly 50 percent since spending peaked in July, reaching a record high at the end of September. The data tracks transaction information from over 70,000 US firms, though it focuses primarily on API costs and skews toward large customers.
The financial shift stems almost entirely from competition between OpenAI and Anthropic, which have lowered rates to retain enterprise clients. In the final week of September covered by the report, Anthropic captured 51 percent of token spending while OpenAI secured 44.5 percent. Open-source models continue to account for less than five percent of business expenditure. This marks the second decline in the metric, but the current downturn has persisted unusually long.
- OpenAI and Anthropic dominate the market share for paid API usage.
- Spending peaked in July before dropping significantly.
- The analysis relies on a subsample of Ramp transaction data.
