Apple cuts employee spending limits on AI use - Bloomberg

Apple Inc. is cutting employee budgets for the use of artificial intelligence as part of cost-cutting efforts, while simultaneously seeking to place AI at the center of its operations. Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.

Details

Last month, Apple quietly lowered the daily spending limit for some engineers using AI models from $300 to $200, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is now planning further cuts for some engineering teams, potentially reducing their daily limits to $100, the sources said.

The changes underscore the difficult balance Apple faces as it seeks to cut costs while encouraging employees to integrate AI more deeply into their daily work. The company aims to modernize its engineering processes and other internal operations using AI, while tightening restrictions on how much employees can spend on using the technology.

Many groups outside the engineering department already face a daily limit of $100, but Apple is considering lowering that limit to $25 for some teams, according to the sources. Employees who need higher spending limits to perform their duties will be able to request exceptions from senior management.

The budgets cover tokens — units of text and other data processed by AI models when handling queries. AI service providers typically charge based on the volume of tokens consumed, with more advanced models generally costing more. Complex tasks, such as writing and debugging software code, can consume large numbers of tokens.

The restrictions reflect a broader shift in the technology industry, where companies that initially encouraged widespread experimentation with AI are increasingly scrutinizing costs. The challenge is to determine how much spending can be cut without undermining the productivity gains that prompted companies to adopt the technology.

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The reaction to the changes within the company has been mixed. Some employees say that only a few people used their full daily limits of $300, making the previous restrictions excessive. Others see the cuts as a sign of broader cost-cutting, heightening concerns about potential layoffs.

Some Apple divisions have already hired outside consultants to assess their efficiency and operations, intensifying employee concerns about possible restructurings in the future. New CEO John Ternus is pushing the company to work more quickly and efficiently with fewer layers of management, Bloomberg News reports.

The actual savings from the cuts remain unclear, especially given that some employees were not coming close to their previous limits. The impact could become more noticeable if Apple continues with further reductions, potentially forcing heavier users to seek exceptions to retain access to the tools on which they rely.

Meanwhile, Apple’s overall spending has increased. This week, the company said that research and development expenses rose 32% in fiscal 2026 due to higher infrastructure and artificial intelligence costs. The company’s operating expenses increased 22% to a total of $75.5 billion, or 16% of total net sales.

Apple employees have access to a range of artificial intelligence services, including Claude from Anthropic PBC, ChatGPT from OpenAI, and Google’s Gemini. Some teams are being instructed to use less expensive models or rely on artificial intelligence models that run locally on devices.

Industry situation

Apple is not the only company seeking to control artificial intelligence spending. Microsoft Corp. has also tightened its internal limits on artificial intelligence spending, while Tesla Inc. has introduced a weekly limit of $200 on employees’ artificial intelligence expenses. Meanwhile, Uber Technologies Inc. has capped the use of individual artificial intelligence coding tools at $1,500 per month. And Meta Platforms Inc. has introduced token budgets and encouraged employees to switch to internally developed artificial intelligence tools.