Originally published: The Guardian, 29 July 2026
Some companies reportedly using leaderboards for employees who used the most AI in their work
Software firm Atlassian has sought to tighten tracking of its staff’s AI spending by introducing “wallets” with monthly caps of up $2,000 for each employee, amid an explosion in costs at other tech companies.
The move by Atlassian, which recently cited AI as part of the reason behind cutting 1,600 staff, bucks the trend of others in the tech sector who encouraged employees to use as much of the technology as possible, dubbed “tokenmaxxing”. Some companies have reportedly introduced leaderboards for employees who used the most AI in their work.
A June Pureprofile survey of 500 senior Australian staff at companies using AI, conducted on behalf of search AI company Elastic, found that 80% were concerned that high usage was being mistaken for productivity gains.
