U.S. firms turn to cheaper Chinese AI models
U.S. companies are using Chinese AI models more often as OpenAI and Anthropic become more expensive to use. Models from DeepSeek and Z.ai are being seen as closer in quality to leading U.S. systems while costing less.
On , the share of tokens used by U.S. companies on Chinese AI models has stayed above 30% every week since Feb. 8, 2026, and reached as high as 46%. The average over the previous 12 months was 11%, and it fell to 4.5% in the first half of 2025.
Some are already using cheaper models for small AI agent projects that need basic decision-making. The broader shift is toward choosing good-enough models by task instead of sending to the most expensive model.
Key points
- U.S. company usage of Chinese AI models is rising on .
- Chinese AI models have held more than 30% of U.S. company token use every week since Feb. 8, 2026.
- That share reached 46%, compared with an 11% average over the previous 12 months.
- DeepSeek and Z.ai are highlighted as lower-cost alternatives with improving quality.
- AI can cut costs by matching each task to the cheapest model that works well enough.