Science & Tech · AI · 4 hrs ago
OpenAI and Anthropic cut AI prices to attract business customers
OpenAI and Anthropic are competing to win business customers by offering cheaper AI models.
The cost of using AI models has fallen sharply since spring, with one index showing a 56% drop from May to late October.
Companies had faced steep AI bills; Uber used its yearly AI budget in four months and then limited employee use.
Meta, Cisco and Walmart also set limits on AI spending, according to the story.
New, lower-priced models are adding to the competition, as US firms respond to Chinese companies offering downloadable models that can run on customers’ own systems.
Businesses are choosing cheaper models for many tasks, rather than relying on the most advanced options every time, and some combine products from different providers.
OpenAI and Anthropic have cut prices on AI models as they compete to attract business customers.
The cost of using AI models has fallen sharply since spring, according to spending indexes cited by Expansión.
Silicon Data’s index fell 56% from its late-May peak to 0.92 cents by late October.
Companies are also increasingly using cheaper models for tasks that do not require the most advanced systems.
Uber restricted employee use of AI after its annual AI budget was spent in four months.
- Who
- OpenAI and Anthropic are competing for business customers. Companies including Uber, Meta, Cisco and Walmart are managing AI costs.
- What
- AI model prices have fallen as providers offer cheaper models and businesses limit spending.
- When
- Prices fell between spring and late October; the article was published on November 4, 2026.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- AI companies are competing for customers, including against lower-cost open-weight models from Chinese labs, while businesses seek to control spending.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Uber restricted AI use after spending its annual AI budget in four months.
Silicon Data’s language-model token spending index reached a peak of $2.07.
OpenAI launched its GPT-5.6 range of lower-cost models.
Silicon Data’s index fell below one dollar for the first time.
Ramp recorded average spending of $0.64 per million tokens.
Silicon Data’s index stood at 0.92 cents, 56% below its May peak.
- Silicon Data index peak
- $2.07 in late May
- Silicon Data index
- 0.92 cents in late October, 56% below its May peak
- Ramp average spending
- $0.64 per million tokens in the week of October 11
- Ramp previous peak
- $1.22 per million tokens in late February
- Uber AI spending
- About 5,000 engineers spent up to $2,000 a month per person on Claude Code tokens
What people are saying
AI is getting cheaper across all segments, both in the most advanced models and in standard and lightweight models.