OpenAI and Anthropic face new AI reality as users shift from 'tokenmaxxing' to efficiency

Companies are shifting away from "tokenmaxxing" (using as much AI as possible without worrying about costs) toward efficiency and cost control, with some businesses switching to cheaper AI alternatives like DeepSeek to reduce spending. OpenAI and Anthropic, which have benefited enormously from the previous spend-at-all-costs mentality, may face slower growth as enterprises demand clearer returns on their AI investments and limit their token (units of data processed by AI models) spending.