As of May 2026, only 2.2% of consumers paid for AI services, with an average monthly spend of $31. By August 2026, the share of paid personal subscriptions for major chatbots in the US reached 4.5%, compared to 2.1% a year prior.
Spending patterns remain uneven. The top 1% of users spend an average of $903 per month, while the median user spends $25. Subscriptions account for approximately 85% of revenue for leading consumer AI web products, while advertising contributes only 13–14%.
Enterprise demand for AI is growing, with token consumption more than doubling over the past year. However, this demand is sensitive to costs: 84% of enterprises stated they would switch models or optimize usage if token prices increased by 50%.
To address the gap between high inference costs and consumer willingness to pay, providers are testing usage-based pricing models. This shift aims to move away from flat-fee subscriptions toward pay-as-you-go structures.
