- Published on
Apple slashes internal AI budgets, with deeper cuts still planned
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
Apple has cut the daily artificial intelligence token budget for some engineers from $300 to $200 last month, according to Bloomberg. The company is planning further reductions, with limits potentially falling to $100 a day and as low as $25 for some non-technical teams. Employees who need more can request exceptions from management.
The move makes Apple the latest major technology company to tighten internal AI spending. Staff currently can use services including Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Under the new approach, some teams will be shifted to cheaper models or AI that runs locally on devices.
The cuts align with the direction set by Apple's new CEO John Ternus, who has pushed to make the company leaner. Yet Apple's research and development spending jumped 32 percent in fiscal year 2026. Higher infrastructure and AI costs drove that increase.
Internal reactions are mixed, Bloomberg reported. Some employees view the previous limits as overly generous. Others worry that the cost-cutting could be a prelude to layoffs.
Apple is not alone in capping workplace AI usage. Microsoft, Tesla, Uber and Meta have all recently limited internal AI spending. The trend suggests companies are moving from open-ended experimentation toward tighter cost controls.
The budget reductions could affect how quickly teams adopt advanced models and how much they rely on third-party AI services. They may also accelerate interest in cheaper or on-device alternatives. That shift may reduce spending but could also limit access to cutting-edge tools.
For Apple, the challenge is balancing lean operations with its expensive AI ambitions. The planned cuts, including possible limits of $25 a day for some non-technical teams, will test that balance. How employees and managers respond could shape the company's internal AI strategy.
