UK small businesses are putting more AI spend into Anthropic

UK small and medium-sized businesses are spending more on artificial-intelligence tools, with Anthropic taking the largest share of tracked AI expenditure and OpenAI remaining a substantial second player. The figures come from research published by Capital on Tap and reported by TechRadar Pro. ¹²

Anthropic takes the largest spending share

Capital on Tap says Anthropic accounted for 54.1 per cent of AI spending among the small and medium-sized businesses in its dataset during the second quarter of 2026. OpenAI accounted for 27.3 per cent, putting the two companies well ahead of the other providers tracked in the report. ¹

The split is about spending rather than simple user reach. A business can use more than one platform, and Capital on Tap says more than 28 per cent of the businesses in its sample were paying for at least two AI platforms. The data therefore points to a market where companies are experimenting across several tools rather than making one permanent choice. ¹²

Capital on Tap also reports that AI adoption among the businesses it tracks rose from 1.1 per cent in 2023 to 12.8 per cent in 2026. Publishing was the most AI-adopting sector in the report at 26 per cent, followed by radio and television and consulting at 21.6 per cent each. Telecoms reached 20.3 per cent. ¹

The company says the average quarterly spend was £75.60 per small or medium-sized business in the latest period. That is a modest figure in isolation, but the broader movement is significant: AI subscriptions are becoming another recurring software cost for smaller firms, even when those firms do not have dedicated IT teams. ¹²

What the figures do not prove

The data describes spending captured by one business-card provider’s customer base, not every UK small business. It also does not establish whether Anthropic’s tools are producing better results than OpenAI’s, or whether firms are keeping subscriptions after testing them. The figures are best read as a snapshot of purchasing behaviour, not a definitive league table of AI quality. ¹

Our opinion

The interesting part of this research is not simply that Anthropic is ahead. It is that smaller companies appear willing to pay for several competing AI services at once. That may reflect sensible experimentation, but it can just as easily become subscription sprawl: a handful of monthly charges that nobody reviews once the trial period has ended.

For UK SMEs, the practical question is less “Which provider won this quarter?” and more “Which tool is earning its place?” Companies should track what each service is used for, keep sensitive customer information out of tools that have not been properly vetted, and make sure human judgement stays in the loop for consequential decisions. Those are recommendations from Capital on Tap rather than findings proven by the spending data, but they are the right caveat to attach to a rapidly growing software bill. ¹