What exactly is Amazon telling its engineers to stop doing?

Amazon is telling engineers to stop chasing token counts, warning that heavy AI usage does not automatically mean better work.

AI Coding AssistantsTop Companies' AI MovesAI Business & IndustryTop Companies AI12m agoOct 29, 2026, 06:30 JST

Amazon to engineers: stop tokenmaxxing, tokens ≠ value

Send on LINE

3 Key Points

What happened
In guidelines published October 27, Amazon told developers and managers that consuming more tokens is not the same as delivering more value, and laid out how to gauge AI's real impact.
Why it matters
The guidance signals that Amazon will judge engineers on the value AI delivers rather than on raw usage volume, so staff chasing token counts to look productive may no longer be rewarded.

WHO IT HITSEngineering managers and developers at Amazon who use AI coding tools will need to show outcomes rather than usage volume, and other companies setting internal AI metrics may face similar questions about how to measure real impact.

Not sure about something? Ask the AI

Questions and answers are published on this page.

Summaries like this, every morning.

Get these free every morning

Context & Analysis

Amazon's updated guidelines, published on October 27, draw a line between how much AI a developer uses and how much value that use produces. The company states plainly that consuming more tokens is not the same as delivering more value, and it asks developers and managers to gauge AI's real impact rather than count usage.

The guidance does not retreat from the technology. Amazon writes that it is certain that whatever future best practices are, AI will be at the center of software engineering practice. The message is about measurement: usage volume is being separated from output quality, and teams are being pointed toward judging AI by what it delivers.

FAQ

What exactly is Amazon telling its engineers to stop doing?: Amazon is telling engineers to stop chasing token counts, warning that heavy AI usage does not automatically mean better work.
Is Amazon backing away from AI in software development?: No. Amazon said it is certain that whatever future best practices are, AI will be at the center of software engineering practice.

AI news that matters for your work, delivered every morning.

Pick your industry and the AI tools you use, and get news related to your work every day.

Get it free

Free · 30 seconds with Google · unsubscribe anytimeWhat is AIToday? →

Ask AI

Ask AI anything about this article. The AI reads this article, earlier AIToday articles, and Wikipedia, and cites its sources. Q&As are published on this page for other readers too.