Apple lowers the daily spending ceiling on AI for its engineers

Apple decided to cut the daily spending limit on artificial intelligence tools for some of its engineers. The cap was reduced from $300 to $200, and the company is considering lowering it to $100 for certain teams. The measure aims to contain costs while trying to integrate these technologies into its internal processes, according to Bloomberg.

The budgets cover the tokens and other data that the models process to respond to requests. Providers charge based on the volume consumed, and the more advanced systems usually have higher rates, especially for complex tasks like writing or debugging code.

The company is also looking to reduce the daily cap to $25 for certain groups outside the engineering area. Those who need a higher allocation to fulfill their duties can request exceptions from upper management.

From Cupertino, Apple did not want to make official comments. Discussions about these changes are private, and the sources consulted requested to remain anonymous.

A trend spreading in Silicon Valley

The adjustment is not exclusive to Apple. According to the specialized site 9to5Mac, the practice known as tokenmaxxing has spread in Silicon Valley over the past year: consuming as many AI tokens as possible, sometimes taken as an informal indicator of productivity.

Companies like Meta have implemented internal leaderboards, some unofficial, ranking employees based on the volume of tokens used. As costs rose, companies began to impose limits.

Accenture, for example, recently reduced its centralized allocation of Claude to $29 per employee per month and passed any extra expenses to individual projects or teams.

The restrictions reflect a broader review of artificial intelligence costs in the tech industry. Firms that initially drove massive experimentation are now looking to define how much they can cut without losing the efficiency gains that motivated adoption.

Internal reactions and cost context

Within Apple, reactions were mixed. Some employees argue that few workers reached the previous limit of $300 per day and that, therefore, the allocation was too high. Others see the cut as a sign of a broader cost reduction.

This perception adds to internal concerns about potential layoffs and future restructuring. Some divisions have already hired external consultants to assess efficiency and operations. CEO John Ternus, who took over on September 1, is seeking a faster structure with fewer management levels.