Most AI practitioners now spend more on subscriptions than utilities, survey finds
A 2,000-person poll finds the majority of tech practitioners now pay for three or more AI services, spending more on model access than electricity or phone bills.
A poll of 2,000 users conducted in mid-June 2026 found that more people now maintain three or more paid AI subscriptions than maintain one or two combined. The survey reframed the question from "Do you have a ChatGPT subscription?" (the standard two years ago) to "How dependent are you on AI?" — treating employer-paid and personal subscriptions equally and measuring reliance rather than preference.
The results show a clear shift in how practitioners view AI access. Users with more than two active subscriptions outnumber those with one or two, and the median respondent now spends more on AI services than on electricity, water, or mobile phone bills. About 20 percent of respondents reported paying for no AI subscriptions at all.
The spending threshold
The comparison to utility costs is intentional. The poll author noted that if current trends continue, AI spending will soon exceed food budgets for many users — a threshold he described as the point where "the most interesting part begins." The framing suggests AI access has shifted from a discretionary tool to an assumed baseline cost of participation in knowledge work.
The survey did not break down which services drove the multi-subscription behavior (ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, Runway, etc.), nor did it distinguish between text, image, and video tools. The poll left open whether the 20 percent paying for nothing would eventually be priced out of relevance or whether subscription fatigue would eventually push the majority back to free tiers.
