AI Agents Devour Tokens at Record Pace, Reshaping Compute Resources
A new study by Andreessen Horowitz's crypto arm, a16z, reveals that AI agents are consuming tokens at an unprecedented rate. According to data from OpenAI, OpenRouter, and Similarweb, AI agents use nearly five times more tokens than humans, with their consumption increasing by roughly 14 times since February.
The most active companies in the tech sector are generating significantly more tokens than typical businesses, with those in the top decile producing nearly 12 times more. This gap has widened over the past year, with token generation at these high-usage businesses increasing by 32.5 times.
As AI agents become more advanced, their usage patterns are shifting towards more complex tools, such as plugins and skills. Codex usage among legal professionals has increased by a staggering 108 times since February, highlighting the growing demand for specialized AI capabilities.