AI costs begin to bite as agents may increase token demand by 24 times, says Goldman Sachs report — Uber and Microsoft among companies feeling the bite of tokenized billing
Major tech companies like Microsoft and Uber are reevaluating their AI strategies due to rising costs associated with token usage. A Goldman Sachs report predicts that the demand for tokens could increase by over 24 times in the coming years. Despite heavy investments in AI, companies are struggling to find a direct correlation between token usage and tangible consumer benefits.
- ▪Microsoft and Uber are both considering changes to their AI processes as costs rise.
- ▪Goldman Sachs estimates that token use for Agentic AI could increase by over 24 times in the next few years.
- ▪Uber's Operations chief stated that there is no clear link between token usage and consumer feature development.
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| Canonical URL | https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/ai-costs-begin-to-bite-as-agents-may-increase-token-demand-by-24-times-says-goldman-sachs-report-uber-and-microsoft-among-companies-feeling-the-bite-of-tokenized-billing |
| Publication time | Wed, 27 May 2026 20:52:46 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-27T20:58:04.686Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-27T20:58:04.686Z |
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| Cluster | gp7Mt92tlV20 |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
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Tech Industry Artificial Intelligence AI costs begin to bite as agents may increase token demand by 24 times, says Goldman Sachs report — Uber and Microsoft among companies feeling the bite of tokenized billing MEMBER EXCLUSIVE News Analysis By Jon Martindale published 27 May 2026 Microsoft and Uber are both considering refining their AI strategies as costs mount. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Share Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Major tech companies are struggling to justify the skyrocketing prices…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Tom's Hardware.