Companies cool on AI as big bills raise questions about value

Axios reports that US companies are shifting from "should we use AI" to "is it worth the cost." Many pushed employees to use AI, but hefty monthly bills are making them rethink the investment.

An extreme case: a company spent $500 million (about 3.39 billion yuan) in one month after failing to set a usage limit on its Claude license. Microsoft and Uber have also started reviewing AI costs, saying higher token consumption hasn't delivered useful features.

CloudBees CEO Anuj Kapur says layoffs may be one of the few ways companies can offset AI bills. Micro1 CEO Ali Ansari calls the shift a "healthy correction" from overuse, moving away from "tokenmaxxing" to more efficient AI.

Employees often use AI for tasks they dislike, not the company's most valuable ones—like checking weather or celebrity gossip—making the cost-benefit even worse.