Contrary to the view that AI token intensity will drop after the initial coding boom, the move from simple queries to autonomous 'agentic' workflows will cause an order-of-magnitude (10x) increase in token usage per task. This applies across all knowledge-based jobs, ensuring sustained and explosive demand for compute.

The shift from simple chatbots (one user request, one API call) to agentic AI systems will decouple inference requests from direct user actions. A single user request could trigger hundreds or thousands of automated model calls, leading to an exponential increase in compute demand and cost.

The recent explosion in AI agent usage is a key driver behind the massive funding rounds for inference providers like Base10. Agents, which can be autonomous and perform complex tasks, "gobble up" significantly more compute resources and tokens than previous AI applications, directly boosting revenue for the companies that run the underlying models.

The new multi-agent architecture in Opus 4.6, while powerful, dramatically increases token consumption. Each agent runs its own process, multiplying token usage for a single prompt. This is a savvy business strategy, as the model's most advanced feature is also its most lucrative for Anthropic.

The next wave of AI compute demand won't be from generating more outputs, but from agents performing exponentially more data collection for a single task. For example, a financial model could trigger an agent to analyze vast datasets, like satellite imagery, multiplying token usage for one result.

The massive spike in demand for AI tokens is a direct result of the shift from users performing simple, assisted tasks to deploying autonomous agents. A single individual can now consume billions of tokens via agents running on their behalf, overwhelming the current supply of compute.

The business model for AI is pivoting away from SaaS-style subscriptions. Enterprise-focused labs like Anthropic see massive revenue not from adding users, but from the immense token consumption of API power users. A single developer can be 100x more valuable than a subscriber, forcing a shift to consumption-based pricing.

The next wave of AI adoption involves 'agentic' workflows, where AI performs complex tasks autonomously. This shift from simple queries to agentic use is expected to increase token consumption by approximately 10x per task. This will drive a massive explosion in compute demand across all knowledge-work industries, not just coding.

While user growth for apps like ChatGPT is slowing, per-user token consumption is skyrocketing as models shift from simple queries to complex reasoning and AI agents. This creates a hidden, exponential growth in compute demand, validating Oracle's massive infrastructure investment even as front-end adoption matures.