AI Token Spending Growth Stalled, Then Picked Back Up

Ramp, a corporate expense management software company, tracks how much its clients pay for AI model tokens. That's essentially the usage fee for running an AI model. From June to July 2026, spending on AI model tokens grew 42%. From August to September, though, spending grew just 1.5%, even as AI model usage kept climbing. Then in October spending jumped again, up 8.9%. According to Ara Khazaryan, Ramp's lead economist, most of that spending comes from fast-growing, venture-backed tech companies. On average, companies spend $12 to $15 per employee per month on AI. The top 10% of spenders, though, spend $600 to $1,000 per employee per month. Some companies got close to $10,000 per employee this past summer.

These trends suggest the price of AI model tokens fell faster than usage grew, driven by competition among AI model developers and tighter internal budgeting. This doesn't point to fading interest in AI agents. It looks more like a temporary dip after a summer slowdown, not the start of an AI agent bubble bursting.