Uber Says Its AI Costs Just Aren’t Worth It

Uber says its rising AI spend has not yet translated into a clear jump in useful product output.

COO Andrew Macdonald said the company cannot directly tie the costs of AI tools to meaningful feature delivery gains.

Uber has already burned through its 2026 Claude Code token budget early, underscoring how quickly usage costs are adding up.

The company still backs broader AI adoption and is using it to slow hiring, even as returns remain hard to prove.

The story reflects growing pressure on tech firms to show that expensive AI tools deliver measurable business value.