The AI bubble bursts? OpenAI and Anthropic suffer major subscriber exodus, as mass unsubscriptions hit AI giants with market shifts from hype to value.
Multiple reports from Business Insider, Bloomberg, and others suggest the generative AI subscription boom is faltering amid a wave of cancellations. Industry analysts warn that the AI market is exhibiting bubble like symptoms reminiscent of the late 90s dotcom frenzy. Tech firms have poured hundreds of billions into AI chips and data centers to keep up with surging chatbot usage from OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. Now signs of user fatigue and slowing growth are emerging, raising questions about the sustainability of paid AI services.
OpenAI Faces Subscriber Exodus Amid ‘Gemini’ Surge
OpenAI’s ChatGPT – once the poster child of the AI boom – is seeing its paid subscriber base stall out. CEO Sam Altman recently revealed ChatGPT has 800 million weekly users, yet only ~5% pay for a subscription. In fact, European spending on ChatGPT ‘has stalled since May,’ with subscription revenues flatlining in key markets over the past four months. Altman admitted internally that Google’s newest model Gemini 3 is closing the gap fast, warning employees of ‘temporary economic headwinds’ as Google’s AI rollout attracts billions of users across Search, Android and more. OpenAI’s own CFO even noted that ChatGPT engagement has softened recently. Notably, Google reports 650 million users for its Gemini AI – rapidly approaching ChatGPT’s scale – thanks to deep integration into Google’s ecosystem. This sudden Gemini surge, coupled with waning novelty, has many users questioning the value of paying for ChatGPT’s premium plans.
Anthropic’s Claude AI Bleeds Subscribers to Cheaper Rivals
Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI assistant, is losing many of its highest paying subscribers amid discontent over new limits and competition. In late August, Anthropic quietly imposed weekly usage caps on its $20/month Pro and $100–$200/month Claude Code Max plans. The move – meant to curb a few 24/7 power users – backfired: developers complained that paying $200/month only to hit restrictive limits rendered the tool ‘almost useless’. According to one industry account, ‘developers are canceling Claude Code subscriptions left and right’ in frustration. Quality issues compounded the exodus, as users reported deteriorating responses (likely due to cost cutting measures) and even circulated a viral post declaring ‘Claude is dead’. Many of these deserters are flocking to more affordable AI platforms. For example, Zhipu AI’s GLM-4.6 model (offered through the Z.ai service) delivers Claude level coding performance at roughly one seventh the price (with 3× the usage quota). Likewise, free alternatives like Google’s Gemini Studio have been cited as outperforming Claude for coding tasks. In short, when faced with steep prices or nerfed plans, customers are eagerly embracing cheaper or open source AI tools that offer better value.
Cracks in the AI Hype – What’s Next?
Taken together, these trends suggest the once unstoppable AI hype train is hitting real world constraints. Soaring demand and expectations are colliding with high costs, usage limits, and lukewarm upgrades, forcing even AI leaders to rethink strategy. Insiders note that 95% of AI pilot projects fail to show tangible ROI and productivity gains remain barely 1%, despite the hype. As one LinkedIn analyst quipped, this feels like the ‘canary in the coal mine for a massive AI bubble bursting’. The coming months will test whether companies like OpenAI and Anthropic can adapt – by cutting prices, bundling services, or boosting quality – to retain users in an increasingly crowded market. If not, the great AI subscription shakeout may only be getting started.
Reference:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-11-20/the-real-risk-in-an-ai-bubble
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-24/microsoft-cancels-leases-for-ai-data-centers-analyst-says
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-31/us-job-cut-plans-jump-in-challenger-data-due-to-ai-and-tariffs
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samgregorydigital_glm-46-advanced-agentic-reasoning-and-activity-7380917370195763201-Q4iQ
https://medium.com/@joe.njenga/i-tried-claude-code-glm-4-6-and-cut-costs-by-50-dont-burn-cash-0f3b5ef62c36
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mlech26l_today-i-canceled-my-chatgpt-subscription-activity-7399056263550189568-PSFu
My Fingers Is Now On The GPT Plus Cancel Button – Gemini 3.0
byu/BeingBalanced inChatGPT
https://pythonicaccountant.substack.com/p/why-i-canceled-my-chatgpt-subscription
https://www.facebook.com/LaVarWalkerfunny/posts/just-cancelled-my-chat-gpt-subscription-gemini-and-grok-are-superior/1390074972911220
https://medium.com/activated-thinker/why-im-canceling-chatgpt-plus-hello-gemini-3-0-9542506c3c