Apple cuts employee AI budgets, limits engineers' daily spending

Apple has reduced employee spending allowances for artificial intelligence (AI) tools, tightening access to resources used for coding, software testing and other work-related tasks.

According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, Apple cut the daily AI budget for some engineers from $300 to $200 last month. Further reductions could bring the limit down to US$100 for certain engineering teams.

Some non-engineering employees already operate under a $100 daily cap,which could fall to as little as $25. Employees requiring additional access can reportedly seek exemptions from senior executives.

The revised limits could affect employees who rely on AI platforms for coding assistance, software testing and identifying bugs. 

The allowances cover tokens, which measure the amount of data processed by AI models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini.

However, Bloomberg reported that several engineers were not using their full $300 allowance, suggesting the reductions could partly reflect efforts to reallocate unused funds.

The move reflects a broader trend among technology companies reviewing AI-related expenses and assessing whether the tools are delivering measurable productivity gains.

Bloomberg recently reported that Goldman Sachs had restricted access to certain AI coding tools following a review of productivity and risk management.

Apple continues to expand AI adoption across its operations while developing its own foundation models.