AI spending slows at top firms in august: is IT a temporary dip or a warning?

AI adoption slowed in August, according to Ramp, which tracks 70,000 companies. The company reported that 56% of its customers spent on AI products in August, a 0.4% increase from July. This marks a continuation of a trend seen last year, where AI adoption growth stalled between August and October before picking up later in the year. Ramp’s data suggests that even small declines in AI spending could signal broader concerns, especially as investment in AI infrastructure remains high. Ramp’s figures may overstate overall adoption due to its focus on tech-savvy clients. Meanwhile, a US Census Bureau survey shows only 22% of businesses use AI. Despite this, Ramp’s data remains a key indicator of spending trends. The company’s economist, Ara Kharazian, noted a 10% drop in AI spend per employee at the top 1% of firms, falling to $7,205. This decline may be attributed to lower token costs, as OpenAI and Anthropic cut prices, reducing average token costs to $0.68 per million tokens from $1.15 in March. Kharazian also highlighted that competition between OpenAI and Anthropic is driving down prices and slowing spending at top firms. While this benefits many companies, it could threaten revenue for model builders and hyperscalers. Only 6.4% of AI-spending businesses used model-serving platforms in August, a figure that is growing but not fast enough to drive broader adoption.