OpenAI led Anthropic in U.S. consumer spending on paid AI services in most states.

Business Insider reported on Oct. 7, local time, that market research firm YipitData analysed U.S. consumers' credit and debit card payments from June to August and found spending related to OpenAI was higher than Anthropic in 47 of 50 states. The data were also reflected in venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz's (a16z) report on the 'Top 100 Generative AI Consumer Apps.'

Anthropic led in California, Massachusetts and Montana, and Claude spending was also higher in Washington, D.C. OpenAI was particularly strong in eight states including Delaware, Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, New Mexico and West Virginia. In those states, OpenAI accounted for more than 70 percent of spending, with Delaware the highest at 82 percent.

Even so, there are limits to interpreting the figures as overall U.S. AI preferences. YipitData compiled consumer card spending observed in its sample panel, so it does not include free users and does not fully reflect corporate customers' spending. a16z also explained that the figures do not mean each company's total revenue.

In the overall paid market, ChatGPT's lead remained clear. a16z said the number of paid U.S. consumer subscribers for ChatGPT is about three times that of Claude and Gemini. By contrast, Claude users had a relatively high share choosing higher-priced plans. Some 7.3 percent of paid Claude users were on the most expensive individual plan of $100 (134,100 won) or more per month, compared with 1.1 percent for ChatGPT.

The results show OpenAI has secured a broad base in the mass paid AI market, while Anthropic is relatively strong in some technology-focused regions such as California and among high-spending users.