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Who Pays for AI?

Author

Listed:
  • Datta, Nikhil

    (University of Warwick and CEP, London School of Economics)

  • Lambert, Peter John

    (University of Warwick and London School of Economics)

  • Schneider, Patrick

    (Imperial Business School)

Abstract

We document who pays for AI tools using a panel of millions of open banking and cardholder accounts from 2022 to mid-2026, covering billions of transactions. We find that subscriptions to products like Claude and ChatGPT have roughly doubled every 12 months since their introduction, reaching one in twenty UK adults by mid-2026. Adoption is five times higher for under 30s than over 60s, 27 percent higher for men, and grows 1.8 times larger from the bottom to the top quintile of earnings. While ChatGPT held 74 percent of direct subscription spending in late 2025, its share fell 21 percentage points by mid 2026 as Claude surged from 7 to 29 percent of direct spending, driven partly by growth in users who work in technical and professional roles and pay for the most expensive plans. High-frequency banking data are well suited to study the rapidly evolving market for paid consumer AI products.

Suggested Citation

  • Datta, Nikhil & Lambert, Peter John & Schneider, Patrick, 2026. "Who Pays for AI?," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 828, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:828
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    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/wp828.2026.pdf
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    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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