AI usage rises while corporate spending levels off

Companies are using more artificial intelligence, but their spending on it has recently flattened, according to data from Ramp. Token spending increased only 1.5% across August and September, compared with 42% month-on-month growth in July. Spending among the most intensive users slipped slightly below the summer peak of nearly $10,000 per employee, while median companies spent $12–$15 and the top 10% spent $600–$1,000 per employee each month.

Ramp lead economist Ara Kharazian said the slowdown reflects falling prices and improved cost management rather than weaker demand. OpenAI and Anthropic have reduced prices, offered enterprise discounts and faced competition from Meta, Nvidia and providers of open models. Companies are also using cheaper models, routing tools and employee budgets to control costs. October provided some improvement, with token spending up 8.9% from September 23 to October 23, but Kharazian said pressure on spending growth remains strong.

The findings come as Anthropic prepares for a potential IPO and investors reassess expectations of rapid AI expansion. Bloomberg reported that Anthropic’s estimated valuation had fallen to $1.2–$1.3 trillion, while OpenAI reduced its proposed valuation to $1.25 trillion. Kharazian said future products such as personal agents could lift spending, but questioned whether they would be as economically productive as coding tools.