Anthropic’s Claude Gains Traction Among Paid AI Consumers
Consumers who pay for AI are increasingly choosing Anthropic’s Claude, trend data from credit card transaction analytics firm Indagari shows.
This development highlights Anthropic’s growing presence beyond its traditional enterprise and startup developer base, which primarily uses Claude Code.
Analyzing Transaction Trends
Indagari, known for its comprehensive analysis of billions of anonymized credit card transactions from approximately 28 million U.S. consumers, provides insights into consumer behavior. While this data does not provide specific numbers on Anthropic’s revenue or customer count, it reveals significant trends.
In Anthropic’s case, the trend is upwards, indicating a consistent increase in consumer interest and engagement.
Photo credit:TechCrunch/Indagari
The analysis covers weekly transactions from 2025 to May 10, 2026, including payments for subscriptions and API tokens. This data shows a 75% increase in Claude’s paying consumers and revenue since January 2026.
Remarkably, Claude’s growth persisted even after Anthropic’s stance against the Trump administration’s use of its models for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons in March, which initially spurred consumer interest.
Photo credit:TechCrunch/Indagari
Rising Interest on DataCamp
DataCamp, an educational platform with around 20 million users, reports a significant rise in consumer interest in Claude. “Claude” has become the most searched term on the site, surpassing even “AI,” highlighting growing consumer curiosity and engagement.
While ChatGPT courses remain popular for corporate training, demand for Claude courses among self-paced learners now exceeds ChatGPT by three to one, with a reported 18-fold increase in the past 30 days.
Datacamp Claude course demand.Photo credit:Data camp
Competitive Landscape: Claude vs. ChatGPT
Despite Claude’s impressive growth, ChatGPT remains the most popular AI among consumers. Sensor Tower’s market research data shows that although Claude is expanding across platforms, it still lags behind ChatGPT in overall users.
Photo credit:Sensor tower
While ChatGPT’s growth has slowed, primarily due to its already extensive reach, it still has more paying users than Claude, according to Indagari.
Photo credit:TechCrunch/Indagari
However, in terms of consumer dollars and interest, Claude is making significant strides.
Photo credit:TechCrunch/Indagari
Future Prospects for Anthropic and OpenAI
As Anthropic and OpenAI edge closer to becoming public companies, the focus is on their business fundamentals. The recent U.S. government ban on Anthropic’s most powerful cybersecurity-focused models for non-Americans could impact its business, although the data suggests continued growth among consumers and enterprises.
Anthropic has not commented on these developments.
For more information, read the full article here.
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