Apple Cuts Employee Daily AI Spending Limits to Rein in Operating Costs

Apple has reduced daily employee artificial intelligence spending allowances as part of an operational cost-cutting drive, Bloomberg News reported. The company lowered daily spending caps for certain software engineers from $300 to $200 and is considering further reductions to $100 per day. Non-engineering employees, who currently face a $100 daily limit, could see caps drop to as low as $25. The limits apply to token usage on external models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The policy follows a 32% jump in Apple's fiscal 2026 research and development expenses, which pushed total operating expenses up 22% to $75.5 billion.