UK small businesses are spending big on Anthropic — but OpenAI isn't far behind as expenditure on AI tools hits new high

• An estimated 1 out of every 8 UK small and medium businesses are paying for AI tools
• Over 28% of SMEs are using two or more AI platforms
• Publishing is the main UK sector adopting AI

British SMEs are moving toward AI solutions, with adoption increasing from 1.1% in 2023 to 12.8% in 2026, new research has claimed.

The study, by small business credit card providers Capital on Tap, also shows that while smaller companies may have more modest budgets, they’re still happy to spread their bets when it comes to choosing an AI solution.

Over 28% of SMEs are using multiple AI platforms – with Anthropic’s Claude just edging out OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with the average quarterly spend growing to a quarterly average of £75.60 per SME.

SMEs explore AI

Anthropic is the most popular AI provider among British SMEs according to the research, with those businesses devoting 54.1% of all AI spending on Claude and its sister tools. Conversely, OpenAI/ChatGPT received 27.3% in second place.

The presence of tools like Perplexity, Replit, and Lovable in the list suggests that many of the SMEs analyzed are in the software development industry. However, it is the publishing industry that apparently leads in AI adoption, at 26%, followed by Radio & Television and “consulting” both at 21.6% and telecoms at 20.3%.

“A three-person firm can now do its own research, marketing, bookkeeping and customer service to a standard that used to need a department," noted Damian Brychcy, the Chief Executive Officer at Capital on Tap.

"More than one in eight of the small businesses in our data are already buying AI tools, and the pace is accelerating, not levelling off.”

Cut duplication

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising aspect of the analysis is the duplication. There is a suspicion that SMEs are trying one AI – perhaps on a trial that they forget to cancel – then moving onto another.

Brychcy states “More than a quarter of AI buyers now pay for two or more providers, and the balance between those providers can flip inside a single quarter.”

This introduces the challenge of duplication, and puts the onus on SMEs to “cut the duplication and be honest about whether each tool is earning its place.”

Whether SMEs are suitably equipped to appreciate the risks of AI tools isn’t clear from the analysis, but few will have dedicated IT personnel who are completely across the details.

So Brychcy offers some useful tips: “check its output, keep sensitive business and customer data out of tools you haven't vetted, and don't hand a model decisions that need a person's judgement.”

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