Who in the UK is ready to pay for ChatGPT or Claude out of their own pocket? Economists at the University of Warwick and Imperial College London analyzed anonymized bank and card transactions to estimate the scale of paid use of AI tools in the country.
They estimate that in June 2026, 5.1% of British adults - about 2.8 million people - were paying for AI assistant subscriptions themselves. The number of subscribers roughly doubles every year. Consumer spending on such services grew from almost zero at the start of 2023 to an annual market of one billion pounds.
Occupation turned out to be an important factor. Among IT specialists, about 20% had a subscription. Among university lecturers and finance professionals - 13-16%. Among school teachers, writers, artists and doctors - 7-9%. Among electricians, nurses and social workers - less than 3%.
ChatGPT remains the market leader, but Claude is gaining ground quickly. Claude's share of consumer spending on subscriptions rose from 7% to 29% between December 2025 and July 2026. ChatGPT's share fell from 74% to 53% over the same period. Claude's growth also reflects a shift to more expensive plans, especially among technical and professional workers. Claude is stronger among programmers, engineers, finance professionals and academics, while teachers, healthcare workers and HR specialists more often choose ChatGPT.
Londoners are more active than other UK residents: in June 2026, 7.9% of adults in the capital had a personal subscription versus 5.1% nationally. The fewest subscribers are in North East England - 3.8%.
Overall, young people subscribe noticeably more often than older people, men 27% more often than women, and people in the top fifth of incomes almost twice as often as those in the bottom fifth.
"Millions of people now pay for AI out of their own pocket every month. In just over three years, these tools have become a billion-pound consumer market in the UK," noted Dr Peter Lambert of the University of Warwick. "Only one in 20 adults is subscribed, so growth is still possible. The main question is: how many people using free AI tools will eventually decide they are worth paying for?"
Dr Nikhil Datta added that people whose work involves tasks AI can ease are more likely to pay themselves. This suggests the tools are bought partly for work tasks. The first paying customers were mostly high-income men, but the picture is changing quickly: women make up almost half of new subscribers.
Dr Patrick Schneider of Imperial College Business School noted that the market is young and can change very quickly. ChatGPT still leads, but its early dominance is shrinking.
The researchers matched occupations with the share of workers holding an active personal AI subscription. Occupations were determined from payments for professional membership and registration, as well as employer records. Only personal payments were counted, not employer-paid licenses, corporate accounts or free use of AI.