MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Menlo Ventures today released its 2026 State of Consumer AI report, the firm’s second annual study tracking how consumers are adopting, using, and paying for AI—and how those behaviors are evolving year over year.
Based on a nationally representative survey of 5,067 U.S. adults in July 2026, the report finds that consumer AI adoption was surprisingly flat this year: 64%1 Americans now use AI, up just three percentage points from 61% last year. Globally, Menlo Ventures estimates the AI user base grew just 11%, from 1.8 billion to 2 billion people.
Spending moved on an entirely different curve. Menlo Ventures estimates global consumer AI spending reached $40 billion in 2026, more than triple the $12 billion estimated a year ago—despite the user base growing just three points. Growth came from existing users spending more time and money with AI. More than half (55%) of AI users now pay for at least one AI product, and 46% of AI payers say they spend more than they did a year ago. Daily AI use rose from 19% to 25% of U.S. adults, and 52% of AI users say they use AI more than they did a year ago.
“The biggest surprise this year is that the consumer AI market more than tripled without a wave of new users. Growth came from power users bringing AI into more parts of their lives, spending more time and money with it, and increasingly letting it act on their behalf,” said Amy Wu Martin, Partner at Menlo Ventures. “At the other end of the market, the holdouts dug in: nearly three-quarters of non-users say they don’t trust what AI tells them, up significantly from last year. Both ends got more extreme this year. The middle barely moved.”
Competition among the leading AI assistants also intensified. ChatGPT remains the most-used assistant, reaching 60% of U.S. AI users, with Gemini close behind at 58%. Claude nearly tripled its reach, from 7% of AI users in 2025 to 20% in 2026. (Anthropic is a Menlo Ventures portfolio company.) Consumers are also increasingly using multiple assistants rather than choosing one: the average U.S. AI user now uses three general AI assistants, up from 2.2 last year.
Key Findings
- Consumer AI Spending More Than Tripled, Even as User Growth Barely Budged. Menlo Ventures estimates global consumer AI spending reached $40 billion in 2026, up from $12 billion in 2025. Global app-store consumer spending took roughly eight years to reach that level, and U.S. subscription streaming about sixteen; consumer AI got there just three and a half years after ChatGPT’s launch. Growth came from existing users spending more money and time with AI: 55% now pay for at least one AI product, while the 14% of payers spending $100+ per month account for roughly 60% of U.S. consumer AI spending. Daily AI use also rose from 19% to 25% of U.S. adults.
- Nearly Half of AI Users Have Made Money With AI. 48% of U.S. AI users say they have earned money with AI, across everything from content creation and freelance work to businesses, side projects, and investing.
- AI Has Become the Default for a Growing Set of Everyday Tasks. A year ago, writing was the only everyday activity where most people who did it used AI. This year, six have crossed that threshold: writing, coding for work or school, completing assignments, creating images, building presentations, and making games. Health questions posted the largest year-over-year increase of any activity measured, rising 11 points to 25% of U.S. adults.
- Consumers Are Starting to Let AI Act for Them. 41% of U.S. AI users have tried an AI agent and 24% use one regularly. Nearly one-third (32%) have allowed AI to take an action at least once without final approval. Regular agent users are among the market’s deepest users: 92% pay for AI, compared with 55% of AI users overall.
- Trust Has Overtaken Convenience. When choosing an AI product, U.S. respondents now rank accuracy (45%), trustworthiness (40%), and security and privacy (36%) ahead of ease of use (32%). At the other end of the market, resistance is hardening: 70% of non-users distrust AI-generated information, up from 58% in 2025.
- The Holdouts Are Digging In. The share of consumers who still don’t use AI fell only three points, to 36% of American adults this year. Within that group, every values-based objection hardened: the share who say AI tools are biased crossed a majority for the first time, from 40% to 52%; 83% now prefer human interaction; and 76% cite privacy concerns. Practical barriers, meanwhile, barely moved. The share who said they didn’t know how to use AI was statistically unchanged, while lack of access declined.
“It’s wild to see that nearly a third of AI users have already let AI act without a final human sign-off. It’s small stuff so far—sending an email, making a purchase—but it marks a real shift: people are starting to hand over judgment, not just ask for help,” said Shawn Carolan, Partner at Menlo Ventures. “The most valuable AI customers aren’t the people who dabble with it; they’re the people who live in it. The companies that earn enough trust to act on someone’s behalf will build the deepest customer relationships.”
Menlo Ventures’ 2026 State of Consumer AI report examines consumers’ deepening engagement across four dimensions—time, money, tasks, and autonomy: how frequently consumers use AI, what they are willing to pay for, which areas of their lives they are bringing it into, and how much authority they are willing to delegate. Menlo Ventures’ consumer investors also profile AI power users and holdouts, explore the role of trust in shaping adoption and delegation, map the consumer AI ecosystem, and share their predictions for 2027.
To read Menlo Ventures’ 2026 State of Consumer AI report, including detailed methodology, visit: https://menlovc.com/perspective/2026-the-state-of-consumer-ai/
About Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures is a leading venture capital firm investing at the forefront of AI. For 50 years, Menlo has backed transformative companies early, from Gilead Sciences, Hotmail, Siri, Roku, and Uber to today’s AI leaders, including Anthropic. With more than $8.5 billion in assets under management, Menlo invests from seed through growth across AI infrastructure and applications spanning enterprise, consumer, and healthcare. The firm’s portfolio includes more than 85 public companies and 170 M&A exits, with current and past investments including Abnormal AI, Anthropic, Carta, Chime, Harness, Lovable, OpenEvidence, Recursion, Roku, Rover, Siri, Suno, and Uber. When we’re in, we’re ALL IN—and today, we’re ALL IN on AI.
www.menlovc.com · @MenloVentures
Media Contact: For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact menlo@nectarpr.com.
1 This figure reflects a consistent question and sampling methodology fielded identically in 2025 and 2026 among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, so the year-over-year comparison is apples-to-apples. The relatively modest topline movement (61.0% to 63.6%) is consistent with independent third-party evidence, which also shows AI usage growth concentrated in frequency and intensity of use among existing users rather than in the size of the overall user base.
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