In the AI whirlwind of recent years, businesses raced to implement the technology amid widespread discussion of its seemingly unbounded potential and ability to automate white-collar work at little expense.
In sectors from manufacturing and pharmaceuticals to tourism and gaming, businesses encouraged staff to experiment with AI, free from the usual constraints on cost.
In Silicon Valley, tech groups such as Amazon built internal leader boards ranking staff on AI usage, convinced this would help integrate the technology into work routines.
But since the start of 2026, a shift has begun to take place. The world’s largest AI providers have started to move businesses away from a flat-fee structure and on to usage-based pricing, as they prepare to go public and demonstrate the sustainability of their businesses.
People are really saying . . . ‘My company spent my entire 2026 budget in Q1’
