Zylo 2026 SaaS Management Index: AI-Native App Spend Surges 108%, Enterprise Up 393% — ChatGPT Is Now the Most Expensed App

Zylo·high signal

Zylo's 2026 SaaS Management Index reveals AI-native application spend jumped 108% overall and 393% at large enterprises in a single year. ChatGPT is now the most expensed application across organizations, highlighting how AI tools enter companies outside formal procurement — via employee credit cards before IT can respond. Organizations now spend an average of $55.7M on SaaS annually (+8% YoY), but business units control 81% of that spend while IT manages just 15%. Shadow IT accounts for 34% of the SaaS portfolio. For builders: the explosive growth in expense-report AI adoption means AI tools that sell bottom-up to individuals are winning the distribution war.