UK — The Register

Amazon tells tokenmaxxing devs to slow their AI roll

AIOctober 29, 20261 min read

Amazon has told its software engineers to focus on useful results, not on how many AI tokens they use. The company says it is worried about rising AI costs and messy code.

What happened

Amazon sent a note to its engineering teams saying developers should value results over AI use. The note says that using a lot of AI, which the article calls tokenmaxxing, is not the same as doing good work. Amazon VP and distinguished engineer Terk Terkowitz wrote the note. It was made public on Tuesday.

Key facts

Amazon made the strategy shift public on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
The note came from Amazon VP and distinguished engineer Terk Terkowitz.
Amazon cited concerns about rising AI costs and complexity.
An Amazon spokesperson pointed to comments from AWS CEO Matt Garman in June. He said developers should measure outcomes, not token use.
Microsoft sent its own internal teams a similar message in August.

What is tokenmaxxing?

AI tools charge or measure use in tokens, which are small pieces of text the AI reads and writes. Tokenmaxxing means using as many tokens as possible, often just to look productive. Amazon says this kind of measure can lead teams in the wrong direction.

Why it matters

Big companies are spending a lot of money on AI. Amazon is telling its workers that the goal is good software for customers, not more AI use. The memo also says that if work does not benefit from AI, engineers should explain why, and that is not a failure.

What to watch

Whether other big tech companies copy Amazon's focus on results over token use.
How Amazon measures developer work after this change.
Whether AI costs at Amazon and other companies start to fall.

Glossary

tokenmaxxing: Using as many AI tokens as possible, often without making useful work better.
AI tokens: Small pieces of text that AI tools read and write. Their use is often counted and charged.
AWS: Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing part of Amazon that rents computer power and tools to businesses.

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