Epoch AI Study Finds Claude Users Have Highest Household Incomes, While Meta AI Most Closely Reflects Broader U.S. Population

Generative AI services such as Claude and ChatGPT attract different audiences. Research group Epoch AI and Ipsos surveyed U.S. adults to compare the annual household incomes of weekly users across platforms. The findings offer insight into product positioning, ability to pay and the digital divide, but should not be interpreted as measures of individual salaries or platform preferences.

Epoch AI released a pooled analysis of three survey waves on April 22, 2026, covering responses collected from March 3 to April 5. Among weekly Claude users, 79.8% had annual household incomes above $100,000, compared with just 36.5% of Meta AI users. The respective shares earning less than $50,000 were 6.4% and 32.1%, indicating that Meta AI's income distribution more closely resembles that of the overall U.S. population.