Back to Articles
AI Pricing Bites for Companies Who Encouraged Employees to Use It

Australian Financial Review

ENRICHED

Details

Date Published
29 June 2026
Priority Score
1
Australian
Yes
Created
29 June 2026, 08:01 pm

Authors (1)

Description

AI usage is paid in tokens that represent how difficult a given task is, but the cost per token varies wildly for different models.

Summary

This article examines the economic challenges of high-cost AI tokens for major Australian enterprises, highlighting Westpac's implementation of internal trackers to manage ROI and spend. While it notes the shift toward AI agents and strategy simulations, the focus remains primarily on the commercial sustainability and budget management of deploying frontier models. It provides limited insight into catastrophic safety risks, focusing instead on the financial barriers that may influence the pace of enterprise AI adoption and governance.

Body

As Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller works away on his laptop, there is a new addition to his home screen, which is there to remind him not to get carried away with his use of artificial intelligence.An AI token tracker gives him a running tally of how many tokens he is using with his questions to chatbots, strategy simulations and other AI agent tasks. He has told colleagues it is about keeping the fact that each interaction costs money at the front of his mind, so he can judge if Westpac is getting a return on its investment.Loading...Paul Smith edits the technology coverage and has been a leading writer on the sector for 20 years. He covers big tech, artificial intelligence, business use of tech, the fast-growing Australian tech industry and start-ups, and national innovation policy from our Sydney newsroom. Send tips to @sayssmithy.99 on encrypted messaging platform Signal. Connect with Paul on Twitter. Email Paul at psmith@afr.comSaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleRead MoreAIBusiness ITGoogleSoftwareOpenAIMetaAnthropic