For the last two years, companies across the world have been encouraging employees to use artificial intelligence wherever possible. Write code? Use AI. Draft emails? Use AI. Analyse data? Use AI. But as adoption accelerates, a new problem is beginning to emerge: the bill. The latest example comes from Uber. According to a Bloomberg report, the American company has started limiting employee access to popular AI coding platforms such as Claude Code and Cursor after reportedly exhausting its entire annual AI budget within the first four months of 2026. The move highlights a growing reality that many businesses are now facing. AI may boost productivity, but using it at scale is turning out to be far more expensive than some initially expected.
Uber Introduces Monthly AI Spending Caps
According to the report, the ride-hailing giant has implemented a monthly spending limit of $1,500 per employee for each AI coding platform. The restrictions reportedly apply to advanced “agentic” coding tools that can generate, review and modify software code with limited human involvement. Employees who use multiple AI services will receive a separate budget for each platform. Those who need additional access can request approval to exceed the limit. Uber has also introduced dashboards that allow staff to monitor their AI consumption and associated costs. The company reportedly told Bloomberg that the goal is to encourage responsible experimentation while keeping spending under control.
After Writers And Filmmakers, Now Mathematicians Declare War Against AI Use
From “Use More AI” To “Use Less AI”
Earlier this year, the Ola rival was actively encouraging employees to embrace AI tools. Reports suggested internal leaderboards even ranked workers based on their AI usage. In April, Uber Chief Technology Officer Praveen Neppalli Naga reportedly revealed that the company had already consumed its annual AI budget in just four months.
Despite the new restrictions, AI remains deeply integrated into Uber’s operations. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi recently said that roughly 10 per cent of the company’s code is now generated by AI systems. Beyond software development, teams across legal, marketing and operations have also adopted AI-powered tools.
