Only 2.2% of consumers paid for AI services as of May — TechCrunch

As of May, 2.2% of consumers paid for artificial intelligence services, while the average spending of such users was $31 per month. This is stated in the State of Markets report by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which relies on PNC research, TechCrunch reports.

Paid demand for AI

Andreessen Horowitz indicated that the market is still at an early stage of mature AI adoption and use. At the same time, according to TechCrunch, PNC charts show a gradual increase in both the share of paying users and the amount they spend. The publication notes that even significant improvements in models did not cause a noticeable jump either in the number of customers willing to pay or in their spending.

Bank of America cited similar data: in March, about 3% of consumers in the United States paid for AI services, 40% more than a year earlier. A September Menlo survey gave a more optimistic estimate: a quarter of adults use AI daily, and half of such users pay for access.

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Costs and the corporate segment

In TechCrunch's view, the problem with consumer AI products lies not only in revenue, but also in the high cost of operating models compared with social networks or cloud services. The publication notes that even hundreds of millions of paying customers do not guarantee that such a business will break even.

In this regard, major AI labs are increasingly focusing on corporate contracts and the development of separate industry-focused areas. According to TechCrunch, OpenAI's volume of corporate orders has reportedly doubled since July. The company also introduced the personal agent Dots, demonstrating its potential use for software engineers and employees of creative agencies.

Meta may monetize its personal assistant Muse through personalized advertising and is already considering the corporate sector. Instinct, which has received a $10 billion valuation, plans to take a share of purchases made through the agent. The agent itself is geared, among other things, toward booking travel and restaurants and cancelling subscriptions.