OpenAI is gaining on Anthropic with business users, new data indicates

The competitive landscape for enterprise AI solutions is proving to be highly dynamic, as evidenced by recent data from Ramp, a corporate credit card and expense management company. This volatility challenges the notion of 'sticky' enterprise spending in the AI sector, suggesting that businesses are quick to adapt their preferences based on the latest model releases and evolving requirements. The insights from Ramp, while not representing the entire market, offer a valuable snapshot of trends among a significant segment of American businesses, particularly those with a tech industry skew.

Ramp

Ramp's data, covering over 70,000 American businesses, provides a unique lens into the spending habits of companies on AI services. Initially, OpenAI held a dominant position, but Anthropic surpassed it in May, reaching 41% market share compared to OpenAI's 39%. By July, Anthropic had extended its lead to nearly 44% against OpenAI's nearly 40%. However, the most recent Q3 data indicates a reversal, with OpenAI currently growing faster among Ramp's customers, signaling a fluid market where leadership can change rapidly. This data, while not encompassing large enterprises using other spend-management tools, is substantial enough to reveal significant market indications.

The continuous expansion of the overall AI market is another key takeaway from Ramp's analysis. The percentage of companies utilizing paid AI services among Ramp's customer base has been steadily increasing, topping 50% in March and reaching nearly 56% by July. This suggests that even as OpenAI and Anthropic fiercely compete for market share, the underlying demand for AI solutions is robust and growing, potentially allowing both companies to expand their revenues despite intense rivalry.

Fable 5

Anthropic's Fable 5, a higher-end model tier, has reportedly underperformed in adoption and real-world application, according to Ramp economist Ara Kharazian. This disappointment is attributed to its higher price point and stringent data retention requirements imposed by regulators. Specifically, Anthropic caused concern among users by stating it must retain Fable users' data for 30 days, a policy that likely deterred some businesses, particularly those with strict privacy or compliance needs.

While Fable is designed for more targeted use cases than a general chatbot, its perceived drawbacks have seemingly impacted its competitive standing. The combination of cost and data policy has made it less appealing for a broader range of enterprise applications, contributing to Anthropic's recent slowdown in growth relative to OpenAI. This highlights the critical importance of not just model performance, but also pricing strategies and data governance policies in securing and retaining business customers in the AI space.

GPT-5.6 Sol

In contrast to Anthropic's Fable 5, OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol is gaining traction and is increasingly becoming the preferred choice for developers, as noted by Kharazian. This resurgence in popularity suggests that OpenAI has released a model that resonates well with the technical community, likely due to its performance, usability, or more favorable terms. The rapid adoption of GPT-5.6 Sol is a primary driver behind OpenAI's accelerated growth in Q3 among Ramp's business users.

This shift underscores the intense product cycle in the AI industry, where new model releases can quickly alter market dynamics. OpenAI's ability to deliver a compelling offering like GPT-5.6 Sol demonstrates its continued innovation and responsiveness to developer needs. The competitive advantage gained from such a release can be significant, even if temporary, as businesses are willing to switch providers to leverage the best available tools for their specific applications. This constant innovation cycle keeps both companies on their toes, pushing them to continuously improve their offerings.