Harvey CEO says the company’s AI usage jumped from 1 trillion tokens a month to 12 trillion The legal AI startup Harvey has seen its monthly AI token usage surge from 1 trillion in January to an estimated 12-13 trillion in May, a twelvefold increase. CEO Winston Weinberg highlighted this massive growth as companies globally face the challenge of justifying their AI spending and demonstrating return on investment. Weinberg likened the upcoming debate over AI expenditures to the ‘billable hours problem’ in law firms, emphasizing the need to prove the value and ROI of tokens consumed. He also noted the strategic importance of deciding the right level of AI use for different tasks, advising against using ‘frontier intelligence’ for simpler jobs due to its high cost.

• Harvey’s monthly AI token usage increased from 1 trillion in January to an estimated 12-13 trillion in May.
• Tokens are chunks of text processed by AI models, serving as a key metric for AI use and billing.
• Companies are increasingly scrutinizing AI usage costs, with some reducing “tokenmaxxing” due to high bills.
• Weinberg emphasized the need to determine the appropriate level of AI use for specific tasks, citing cost implications.
• The challenge of demonstrating ROI on AI spending is compared to the “billable hours problem” in law firms. Continue reading https://www.businessinsider.com/harvey-ceo-ai-token-usage-2026-6