Uber chief warns no link yet between AI tokenmaxxing and shipping successful products — company pumps the brakes on all-out AI spending

Uber President and COO Andrew Macdonald has warned that there is not yet a link between higher AI token usage and an increase in useful consumer features, seemingly pumping the brakes on 'AI tokenmaxxing.' Speaking on the Rapid Response Podcast (via Business Insider), Macdonald said, "That link is not there yet, right?" when it comes to using AI to ship features useful to consumers.

Uber’s swerve on gas prices, hotels & a driverless future (COO Andrew Macdonald) | Rapid Response - YouTube

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Macdonald’s headlining quote was taken from a part of the podcast where the discussion concerned Uber working to shape products with an eye on “what’s better for the consumer.” The conversation points to LLMs being used to try to hit the key marketing goal of addressing consumer wants and needs better than any competitor.

The Uber COO noted that “We’re working with pretty much all of the large model companies.” However, the issue is that management isn't seeing a clear link between spending on AI services and successful products shipping. This may simply be because, so far, “there hasn’t really been anything that’s taken off yet.”

The interviewer and host, Bob Safian, highlighted the disappointment voiced by Duolingo employees and management regarding using AI in the workplace. Employees voiced concerns that AI was being pushed for the sake of it, while it introduced new workloads such as checking and reinforcing tasks. Duolingo management heard them and now understands that AI/LLMs don’t fit everywhere.

Uber’s Macdonald nodded along and interjected that "the headline stats make your head explode" when companies discuss AI usage. But he also cautiously indicated that management should ask what productivity gains were delivered and what new products were AI-driven. So, Uber management isn't against using LLMs from the top providers, and it sounds like they will continue to do so. But there may be a reckoning for this technology if a clear link between spending on it and performance doesn’t emerge.

News of Uber’s spending on AI/LLMs went viral last month. Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga told The Information that his company had already blown through its Claude Code budget for 2026 by April. That incident likely caused a few heated discussions in the Uber boardroom. Perhaps Macdonald’s interview provides a window into a philosophy change within Uber and one possible alternative to tokenmaxxing.

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