Apple trims AI spending caps for engineers, eyeing deeper cuts

Apple has cut the daily AI spending cap for its engineering teams, lowering it from $300 to $200 and signaling further reductions. In October the company made the first cut, and Bloomberg says some team allowances will soon drop to $100 per day. Sources also indicate that non‑engineering staff may face a limit as low as $25 daily. Apple did not comment when TechCrunch reached out for comment. Earlier this year a wave of tokenmaxxing saw many firms push staff to use AI heavily, but rising token bills prompted a shift to stricter budgeting. Critics note a gap between the high cost of building and running AI and the unclear productivity gains it delivers. Apple’s earlier push had encouraged engineers to use large‑language‑model tools for code suggestions, documentation and bug detection.

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TechCrunch asked Apple for a statement but the company has not responded.

Context

The cuts follow a broader industry trend of scaling back AI usage after companies realised that token expenses rose quickly and the expected efficiency gains were not always clear. Such budget tightening may affect how quickly new AI‑powered features appear in future Apple products.