Is AI adoption slowing down?
New data from Ramp shows AI adoption among US businesses declined in September 2025, marking the second spending decline of the year, though retention rates for AI products are improving significantly. The article examines the tension between AI companies' massive capital spending ($1T+) and slowing end-user adoption, suggesting a "circular economy of speculation" where AI firms primarily spend with each other. Key insights include tech sector saturation (73% adoption, plateauing), finance sector strength (58% adoption), and the monetization challenges facing AI vendors like OpenAI, which is pursuing social media as a "last-resort" revenue model.
Metrics in this report
73percent
US technology sector businesses with paid subscriptions to AI products
58percent
US finance sector businesses with paid subscriptions to AI products
34percent
US retail sector businesses with paid subscriptions to AI products
28percent
US construction sector businesses with paid subscriptions to AI products
22percent
US accommodation and food services sector businesses with paid subscriptions to AI products
60percent
2023 baseline
80percent
on-track to exceed
2025 projection
8percent
Podcasts that make it past 10 episodes