Enterprise AI Spend Gets Reality Check as Token Costs Collapse

Using artificial intelligence is getting cheaper every year - the price of processing a million tokens has dropped about 10 times each year.

But big companies are not just buying more AI because it is cheap.

Instead, leaders are asking where the AI is being used and whether it is worth the money.

Some companies now make teams get permission before they can use an AI model.

Every team also gets a monthly budget, and every use of AI is tracked.

In one example, a company cut a planned AI cost from $2,000 to $400 just by checking the plan first.

Tech experts say cheaper models have already lowered software development costs by up to 30% on some projects.

Many Indian companies are testing open-weight AI models for simple tasks like customer support.

These models can reduce costs by 30-70%, but companies worry about safety rules and reliability, so they still use the most powerful models for complex work.