After months of aggressive AI adoption and spending, enterprises are discovering that actual return on investment is much harder to achieve than anticipated. According to NEA venture investor Tiffany Luck, companies that pushed employees to maximize AI usage through "tokenmaxxing" campaigns are now facing massive bills and cutting back on licenses.

Uber reportedly burned through its entire annual AI budget in just a few months, while other companies have begun cutting Claude subscriptions for parts of their organizations. The disconnect between AI enthusiasm and actual business impact is forcing CFOs to scrutinize AI spending with the same rigor they apply to traditional technology investments.

What This Means for Your Business

Before expanding your AI tool licenses or pushing companywide adoption, establish clear metrics for measuring ROI in your specific use cases. The companies burning through budgets the fastest are often those treating AI as a general productivity boost rather than a targeted solution for specific problems. Require department heads to justify expanded AI spending with measurable improvements in output, revenue, or cost savings—not just usage metrics.