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Even Apple<\/a>, the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion<\/a>, is watching its AI bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tech giant is tightening internal spending limits as it looks to cut costs, Bloomberg<\/a> reported this week. Apple is reducing how much employees can spend on AI tools to lower costs while simultaneously working to make the technology central to its business<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some Apple engineers saw their daily AI spending limits fall from $300 to $200 last month, per Bloomberg. The company is considering another reduction<\/a> that could bring the allowance down to $100 a day for certain engineering groups.<\/p>\n Non-engineering teams also face steep cuts. Apple currently gives these organizations a $100 daily cap for AI use<\/a> but is considering lowering the limit to as low as $25. Employees who need a higher budget to do their jobs can ask senior executives for an exception.<\/p>\n The spending limits apply to tokens<\/a>, or the pieces of text and other data that AI models process to complete a request. Providers usually bill according to how many tokens employees use, with more sophisticated AI models typically carrying higher prices. Writing code<\/a> or processing software can use a substantial amount of tokens.<\/p>\n Apple wants employees to rely more on AI but spend less doing so, according to Bloomberg. The company\u2019s tighter budgets highlight the tension between controlling costs and using AI<\/a> to overhaul engineering workflows and other internal processes.<\/p>\n The trend isn\u2019t limited to Apple. Across the tech industry, the enthusiasm for letting employees freely experiment with AI<\/a> is becoming overshadowed by closer oversight of its cost. Companies now have to decide where to cut spending without sacrificing the productivity improvements they hoped to achieve by using the tools.<\/p>\n Bloomberg reported that Apple employees are divided<\/a> over the lower limits. Some said that the $300 daily budget was more than what most workers needed. Meanwhile, others worried that the cuts signal a wider effort to reduce spending that could eventually result in job cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n These concerns have grown as Apple brings in outside consultants to review how the company operates and where it could become more efficient. Bloomberg previously reported<\/a> in late September that Apple\u2019s new CEO John Ternus, who took over on September 1, wants a faster, leaner organization<\/a> with fewer layers of management.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s bills are still climbing despite its internal push to cut costs. The company said this week that its research and development spending rose 32%<\/a> in fiscal year 2026, reaching $45.8 billion. Higher infrastructure and AI expenses drove the growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other tech giants are also watching their AI spending<\/a>. In June, Uber limited all employees<\/a> to $1,500 in monthly token spending. The same month, Meta said it planned to cut<\/a> employee AI usage by adding token limits. One month later, Tesla informed staff<\/a> that it would cap employee AI spending at $200 a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Even Apple<\/a>, the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of $4.98 trillion<\/a>, is watching its AI bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tech giant is tightening internal spending limits as it looks to cut costs, Bloomberg<\/a> reported this week. Apple is reducing how much employees can spend on AI tools to lower costs while simultaneously working to make the technology central to its business<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some Apple engineers saw their daily AI spending limits fall from $300 to $200 last month, per Bloomberg. The company is considering another reduction<\/a> that could bring the allowance down to $100 a day for certain engineering groups.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nApple\u2019s mindset<\/h2>\n
Apple\u2019s spending is rising<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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