Apple cuts daily AI spending limit for engineers to $200, may reduce it further

Apple is tightening its spending rules for AI tools asking employees to be more mindful of how they use services such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. The move comes as the technology giant looks to control rising expenses while encouraging employees to make AI a bigger part of their work.

According to a Bloomberg report Apple quietly reduced the AI spending allowance for some of its engineers from $300 to $200 last month. Employees who need to spend beyond the revised limit will now have to obtain approval, from senior leadership.

However, the latest reduction could be only the beginning. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Apple is considering lowering the daily allowance for certain engineering teams to as little as $100. Several teams outside engineering already operate with a $100 daily budget, while the company has also explored reducing the limit to just $25 for some employees.

The spending limits are calculated using tokens, which represent the units of text and data processed by AI models. Since AI providers charge customers based on token consumption, using more advanced models can quickly increase expenses. Software development and coding activities generally consume significantly more tokens than routine tasks, making engineers particularly vulnerable to these restrictions.

Apple employees have access to AI services from Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Some teams are reportedly being encouraged to switch to less expensive models or use AI systems that operate locally on their devices to keep costs under control.

Apple CEO John Ternus wants a leaner organisation

The decision to reduce AI spending comes as Apple's CEO John Ternus pushes for a more efficient and streamlined organisation. Ternus, who took over as chief executive on September 1, wants the company to operate faster, with fewer management layers and greater efficiency.

According to Bloomberg, some divisions have already brought in external consultants to assess their operations and identify areas where improvements can be made. These developments have reportedly created uncertainty among employees, with some concerned that organisational restructuring could follow.

The proposed $100 limit could create more challenges for employees who depend heavily on AI-powered coding tools. They may increasingly need to request exceptions to maintain their existing workflows.

Meanwhile, Apple's overall expenditure continues to rise. The company reported a 32% increase in research and development spending during fiscal 2026, largely because of higher infrastructure and AI-related costs. Operating expenses also climbed 22% to $75.5 billion, accounting for 16% of total net sales.

Apple has previously highlighted AI's potential to improve productivity. Hardware chief Johny Srouji said last year that generative AI could be “a huge productivity boost” for chip design.

Microsoft, Uber and Meta are also controlling AI costs

Apple is not alone in restricting employee access to expensive AI services. Several major companies are introducing spending limits as they try to balance productivity gains with the growing costs of running AI models.

Microsoft has introduced token budgets across its divisions and shifted its default internal AI model to a cheaper alternative. In an internal email, executive vice president Jay Parikh told employees that “tokenmaxxing is not what we are optimizing for.”

Tesla has reportedly introduced a $200 weekly limit on employee AI spending. Uber, meanwhile, has capped individual AI coding tools at $1,500 per month after exhausting its entire 2026 Claude Code budget by April.

Meta has also introduced token budgets and encouraged employees to use its in-house AI tools. Goldman Sachs has taken a different approach by restricting access to certain AI coding services.

Earlier this year, companies actively encouraged employees to use AI as much as possible, a workplace trend commonly described as tokenmaxxing. However, with AI bills mounting, businesses are now reassessing that approach.

At Apple, employees who want to continue using AI tools beyond their allotted budgets will increasingly need to justify the additional expense to senior management.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kahekashan

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Kahekashan is a passionate technophile with a keen eye for cutting-edge gadgets, emerging technologies, and everything in the digital realm. Raised in a Defence family with strong values and a background in literature, she has consistently pursued excellence in every endeavour. Her last full-time assignment involved content writing with the Indian School of Business.

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