More and more Australians are finding artificial intelligence so useful they are willing to pay for it.
An analysis of 8.3 billion Westpac customer credit card and debit card transactions has found more than 150,000 retail customers in March paid for at least one AI subscription a month, with an average monthly spend of $37.
That's a nearly 14-fold increase from the 11,000 Australians that paid to use AI in March 2023, and a 145 per cent jump from those paying to use it a year ago.
There was a rapid growth in the use of AI, Westpac's chief AI officer Dan Jermyn said.
"Year-on-year, the pick-up is accelerating, not just progressing at the same rate,'' he said.
"So I think we're really just at the start of this."