Meta, Uber and Walmart Curb AI Use as Costs Blow Past 2026 Budgets
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18
Meta, Uber and Walmart Curb AI Use as Costs Blow Past 2026 Budgets
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18
Summary
Meta told employees last week it will soon cap internal AI use after an “exponential increase” in costs, marking a sharp retreat from earlier pressure to use the tools as much as possible.
Uber said in May it exhausted its projected 2026 AI budget in just four months, prompting monthly limits on some AI coding tools as bills from providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic mounted.
Walmart has also imposed limits on different AI tools, while Amazon and Meta have removed internal “tokenmaxxing” leaderboards that once pushed workers to compete on usage.
The reversal has quickly flipped “tokenmaxxing” into “tokenminning,” underscoring how companies are still testing where AI delivers enough value to justify rapidly rising operating costs.