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Menlo Ventures Says Consumer AI Spending Tripled as Adoption Split by Income Persists

September 17, 2026 at 17:01 EDT

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Menlo Ventures says consumer AI is no longer primarily a reach story: U.S. adoption rose only three points to 64%, while global consumer spending more than tripled to $40 billion. The firm's new survey also exposes a clear income divide, with 77% of consumers in households earning $100,000 or more using AI, compared with 56% of those below $50,000.

Sep. 16, 2026 · Menlo Ventures

Consumer AI goes deeper

Adoption barely moved, but spending, paid use and delegated actions rose sharply. The divide is now about who relies on AI enough to pay and trust it.

$40B

global consumer AI spend

64%

U.S. adults using AI

55%

AI users who pay

41%

AI users who tried agents

Income still shapes adoption

Households above $100,000 report substantially higher AI use than households below $50,000.

77%$100K+ households

56%under $50K households

Spend grew faster than users

$12B2025

→

$40B2026

The market more than tripled while U.S. adoption rose only three points.

Signals of depth

Payers use AI daily more often, agent users pay at high rates, and 48% of AI users say they have earned money with AI.

Trust limits reach

Among non-users, distrust, privacy concerns and preference for people remain major barriers.

The next contest is permission

Ask questions

→

Pay for access

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Delegate actions

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