Apple cuts internal AI budgets and plans further reductions

Apple has cut the daily AI spending limit for some engineers from $300 to $200, Bloomberg reports. The company plans further cuts: the limit could fall to $100 a day, and to $25 for some non-technical teams. Employees who need more can request an exception from management. At the same time, Apple’s research and development spending rose 32% in fiscal 2026 due to infrastructure and AI costs.

Apple cuts employee AI budgets as it prepares new limits

Where Apple is cutting costs

Employees have access to Claude from Anthropic, ChatGPT from OpenAI and Gemini from Google. Some teams will move to cheaper models or AI that runs locally on devices.

The spending cuts align with the approach of Apple’s new CEO, John Ternus, who wants to make the company leaner. At the same time, research and development spending is rising: it increased 32% in fiscal 2026.

Employees have mixed reactions. Some think the previous limits were already too generous, while others worry that the spending cuts could precede layoffs.

Apple is not the only company to have restricted internal AI spending. Microsoft, Tesla, Uber and Meta recently adopted similar measures.

Dataist’s take: The lower limits show that companies are starting to keep tighter control over employee spending on AI tools. At Apple, however, savings on service usage come alongside rising costs for infrastructure and AI, so limits alone may not be enough to reduce overall spending.