Animal Spirits Podcast Talk Your Book: The Two Biggest Stories of the Year: AI & Tariffs
32 snips
Nov 8, 2025 
Ara Kharazian, an economist at Ramp, explains the complexities of AI adoption and tariffs. He reveals how Ramp's data shows a significant 44% business AI adoption, contrasting with lower government estimates. Ara discusses the differences in AI implementation between enterprises and smaller firms, emphasizing how large players capture benefits. He also clarifies why recent tariff announcements haven't significantly impacted prices yet, citing supply chain adjustments. Tune in for insights on navigating the evolving business landscape!
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Spend Shows Durable Enterprise Adoption
- Ramp's spend data shows AI contract retention rose from ~50% in 2022 to ~80% in 2024, signaling durable adoption.
- Average AI contract sizes are growing and may approach $1M next year, indicating deepening enterprise commitment.
Enterprise Adoption Is Cautious But Growing
- Enterprise adoption is cautious and often limited by trust and liability concerns despite rapid growth in 2024–25.
- Many contracts are for platform providers, internal tooling, or vertical-specific AI, not just headline models like OpenAI.
Surveys Miss Modern AI Use Cases
- Government surveys undercount AI use because their question asks if firms used AI to 'produce goods and services' in the last two weeks.
- Ramp's paid-spend approach captures contract-level adoption and shows ~44% adoption versus the government's ~9%.