$28,000 in 28 Days: Microsoft Cracks Down on AI Abuse

A Microsoft employee racked up a staggering $28,000 in AI tool usage over a mere 28 days, prompting an internal audit and reining in of compute budgets.

The eye-popping figure came to light after workers added a new column tracking monthly AI usage to an internal spreadsheet used for sharing salary and bonus information.

According to self-reported data from 350 US employees, the median AI spending sat at $300 per month, but individual maximums varied greatly across departments.

The CoreAI group logged the highest median at around $975 per month, with individual maximums reaching as high as $16,000. In contrast, some teams had lower-end usage that dropped down to just tens of dollars.