Rising costs associated with AI tokens are forcing marketing services groups to confront hard questions about how much they should be spending on AI.Token usage is “exploding” at Monks, according to co-founder and chief AI officer Wesley ter Haar. That’s to be expected, given the company’s client base of tech brands, production heritage and years-long investment in generative AI tools, but could become a source of friction in quarters to come.
Parent company S4 Capital’s latest set of earnings, published last week, prompted a share price jump for the London firm; strict cost discipline helped broaden margins to 12.3% and double its first half operating profit to £35.2 million, up from £16.4 million during the same period last year. The numbers followed a positive tranche of Q1 figures.
Speaking to Digiday, S4 chair Sir Martin Sorrell called it a “huge improvement,” but acknowledged that rising token costs could demand a stricter spending policy. “If I was going to be critical, I think we’ve probably been ill-disciplined on that,” he said.
How the company manages that cost in the future is an open question. Goldman Sachs forecasts suggest token consumption could increase 24-fold between 2026 and 2030, a rise mostly driven by enterprise and business usage. Licensing fees covering the number of employees using an AI tool are also adding to outgoings.
