Amazon's AI usage leaderboards backfired when developers gamed the system, prompting SVP Dave Treadwell to warn: "Please don't use AI just for the sake of using AI." As providers shift to token-based billing, companies face rising costs from indiscriminate use.

After ChatGPT's 2022 launch, firms like Shopify (CEO Tobias Lütke) and Microsoft mandated AI use in performance reviews. Accenture tied promotions to AI tool adoption, while Shoosmiths offered a £1mn bonus for 1mn prompts. This sparked "tokenmaxxing" — staff maximizing token consumption over value.

Experts now urge ROI focus. Mercer's Ravin Jesuthasan notes a maturing conversation; Standard Chartered's Tanuj Kapilashrami says experimentation without commercial grounding is over. Yet Nvidia's Jensen Huang expects engineers earning $500,000 to consume $250,000 in tokens annually.

Firms are pivoting to smarter incentives. KPMG uses "carrots" like innovation awards; Alliance Bernstein rewards challenging AI outputs. IBM tracks usage but avoids formal targets, while Shoosmiths shifts to accreditation-based bonuses, letting purposeful usage self-regulate as costs rise.