AI subscription costs outpace streaming for many U.S. consumers

A new study from digital commerce platform Bango found that 77 percent of paying AI tool users now consider their subscriptions essential to everyday life, with many spending more per month on AI than on traditional digital services such as streaming video or music.

“The Rise of the AI Subscriber” is the first market research report focused exclusively on consumers who pay for AI tools.

The findings show strong adoption and growing reliance, with 74 percent of respondents saying their AI subscriptions are essential for work. Two-thirds of subscribers said AI is now their most important subscription, and 61 percent indicated they would cancel all streaming services before ending their AI subscriptions.

“We’re seeing a shift from streaming services being people’s most important app to now tools like ChatGPT and other LLM products taking that position,” said Giles Tongue, vice president of marketing at Bango. “People are using them in lots of different ways — writing, learning, researching, or even trivial things like finding out what band someone was in. That blending of entertainment and productivity makes these tools stickier in everyday life.”

On average, respondents subscribed to four different AI tools and spent $66 per month, with 24 percent spending more than $100 monthly. For 21 percent of subscribers, AI represents their most expensive subscription category.

Despite rising costs, 71 percent of those surveyed said they plan to add more paid AI subscriptions over the next year.

The report also identified widespread dissatisfaction with current AI subscription models. More than half of subscribers said they cannot afford all the tools they want. Additionally, 54 percent called current pricing “a rip-off,” and the same number reported confusion over pricing models.

As a result, many are adjusting other digital habits. Sixty-one percent said they had cut back on other subscriptions to continue paying for AI services.

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The study found strong demand for bundled services.

Seventy-five percent of subscribers said they want all their AI tools combined into a single bill, and 77 percent expressed interest in bundling AI with other services, including video streaming and mobile contracts.

Multi-subscription bundling options were popular across multiple sectors: 77 percent wanted AI bundled into services like Amazon Prime, 74 percent supported bundling with mobile contracts, and 71 percent favored AI being included with employer benefits or banking products.

Use of AI while streaming content was common. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they used AI to look up actor names or receive show recommendations, 62 percent used it to generate recipes from cooking shows, and 58 percent reported using AI for looking up spoilers while watching.

When asked which streaming platform they would most want to see bundled with AI, 72 percent chose Netflix, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 60 percent, Disney+ at 54 percent and YouTube Premium at 50 percent.