In the crowded halls of San Francisco’s Moscone Center this week, one name cut through the noise: Claude. The HumanX AI conference, which concluded on April 10, 2026, became an unexpected showcase for Anthropic’s rising influence. While thousands discussed agentic AI’s business impact, conversations repeatedly turned to which tool professionals actually use. The consistent answer pointed to a shift.
Claude Emerges as the Talk of HumanX
According to multiple attendees and panelists, Claude was the most referenced AI assistant. Vendors on the expo floor and speakers on stage cited it as their primary tool. This groundswell stood in contrast to the relative quiet around ChatGPT. One vendor explicitly stated his team had moved to Claude, expressing a sentiment echoed online: that OpenAI’s flagship product had ‘fallen off.’
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This perception exists despite OpenAI’s formidable position. The company recently secured a $122 billion funding round and is preparing for an IPO. Yet, a series of strategic shifts and public relations challenges have created an opening. Industry watchers note that in fast-moving tech, narrative can shape reality as much as revenue.
OpenAI’s Strategic Crossroads
Data from recent months suggests OpenAI is at a decisive moment. Last month, the company shelved several projects, including its Sora video generator and a planned ‘sexy’ ChatGPT variant. It has since narrowed its focus to enterprise and coding services. This retrenchment follows negative press, including a detailed New Yorker profile questioning CEO Sam Altman’s trustworthiness.
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The company’s political work and introduction of ads in ChatGPT have also drawn criticism. During a HumanX discussion, OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor defended Altman. “I think Sam is one of the most visible leaders and executives in the world,” Taylor said. “If you want to seek out detractors for him, you’ll find them.” He added, “I really trust his character.”
These events create an impression of reactivity. The implication is a company responding to market pressure rather than dictating it. For a firm once seen as the undisputed pioneer, that’s a significant change.
The Financial Reality: A Two-Horse Race
Despite the buzz at HumanX, the financial race remains tight. A Wall Street Journal analysis of both companies’ finances called them “the fastest-growing businesses in the history of tech.” They are essentially neck-and-neck in revenue and prominence. However, some metrics indicate Anthropic is gaining among business users, the core audience at HumanX.
What this means for investors is a more competitive and less predictable market. OpenAI’s response has been aggressive. This week, it announced a new $100 monthly subscription tier for ChatGPT, offering expanded access to its Codex coding tool. The move appears designed to counter Claude’s strength in code generation.
The Rise of Agentic AI in Business
The conference’s focus wasn’t just on chatbots, but on their evolution into ‘agents.’ These are AI systems that can autonomously execute multi-step business and coding tasks. According to OpenAI CTO of B2B applications, Srinivas Narayanan, the pace of change is staggering. “We are in this incredible moment in technology,” Narayanan said during a HumanX panel. “Every month, and sometimes every day, we are all looking forward to something new.”
He pointed to agentic coding as a prime example. “We knew AI was going to impact software engineering… but even in just the last few months, the entire field has changed.” This rapid adoption suggests companies are moving beyond experimentation. They are actively offloading complex workflows to AI.
The table below outlines key differences in the current enterprise positioning of both leaders:
| Aspect | OpenAI / ChatGPT | Anthropic / Claude |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Enterprise Focus | Coding (Codex), general business integration | Coding, long-context analysis, security |
| Recent Strategic Move | New $100/month tier, shelved side projects | Capitalizing on perceived reliability & focus |
| Perception at HumanX | Seen as distracted or ‘reacting’ | Praised for focused tooling and output |
| Key Challenge | Managing scale, perception, and focus | Sustaining growth and fending off competition |
What the HumanX Sentiment Signals for the Market
The chatter at a major industry conference is not definitive. But it is a leading indicator. When technical builders and early adopters—the crowd at HumanX—consistently favor one tool, it often precedes broader enterprise adoption. This suggests Anthropic has successfully positioned Claude as the reliable, focused choice for serious implementation.
OpenAI, meanwhile, faces the challenge of any market leader: scaling while maintaining its innovative edge and user trust. Its vast resources and established partnerships give it a durable advantage. The coming months will test whether it can translate those assets into regained momentum.
The competition is ultimately healthy. It drives innovation, improves products, and gives businesses more choice. The era of a single, dominant AI assistant may be ending. In its place, a more specialized and competitive market is emerging.
Conclusion
The HumanX AI conference revealed a clear trend: Claude AI is the current favorite among practitioners building with agentic AI. While OpenAI remains a financial and technological powerhouse, Anthropic has captured mindshare by emphasizing reliability and a focused product roadmap. This shift indicates the enterprise AI market is maturing. Users are making nuanced choices based on specific needs, not just brand recognition. The race is far from over, but the starting line has been redrawn.
FAQs
Q1: What is agentic AI?
Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can autonomously perform multi-step tasks, like writing and deploying code or managing a complex business process, with minimal human intervention. They go beyond simple question-answering to execution.
Q2: Why was Claude so popular at the HumanX conference?
Attendees, particularly developers and vendors, reported preferring Claude for its output quality, especially for coding tasks, and a perception that it is more focused and reliable than current alternatives.
Q3: Is OpenAI actually losing to Anthropic?
Financially, the two companies are growing at a comparable, historic pace. The shift noted at HumanX is primarily about perception and preference among a key professional segment, which can influence future enterprise adoption trends.
Q4: What did OpenAI announce recently?
In early April 2026, OpenAI launched a new $100 per month ChatGPT subscription tier that provides substantially more access to its Codex coding tool, a direct move to strengthen its position with developers.
Q5: What are the main challenges facing OpenAI now?
Analysts point to several challenges: managing public perception after negative press, refining its strategic focus after shelving projects, integrating advertising without alienating users, and fending off strong competition from Anthropic and others in the enterprise space.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and quality.
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