Earlier this year, surging token costs prompted many businesses to cut AI spending. Uber exhausted its 2026 AI budget by April and implemented a $1,500 monthly cap per employee. Meta's internal estimates showed that if growth continued, employee internal AI usage alone would cost billions of dollars in 2026. Domestic tech giants like Tencent and ByteDance have also adjusted their token allocation mechanisms, shifting from "encourage usage" to "use sparingly," with non-core business scenarios facing restrictions. The industry is moving from a "model competition" phase to a "scenario competition" and "ecosystem competition" phase.
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token freedom is the trend