Interview Strategy
The Question You Didn't Know You Need to Ask in Your Next Job Interview
“What's my token budget?” might be the most important question you're not asking. Here's why AI access is becoming the new 401(k) match—and what a good answer looks like.
A Tweet That Signals a Shift
“If you are considering taking a job offer, you may want to ask what your token budget will be.”
— Ethan Mollick, Wharton Professor & AI researcher, author of Co-Intelligence
This isn't a futuristic prediction. It's happening now. As AI becomes essential for knowledge work, your access to these tools—measured in tokens, credits, or monthly budgets—directly impacts your productivity, output quality, and career growth.
Just like you'd ask about health insurance, PTO, or remote work policy, asking about AI access tells you whether a company is investing in your ability to do great work.
What Is a “Token Budget” Anyway?
AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and GitHub Copilot measure usage in tokens—roughly 4 characters or 0.75 words. Every prompt you send and every response you receive consumes tokens.
A “token budget” is how much AI usage your employer allocates to you monthly. It might be expressed as:
Dollar Amount
“$100/month in API credits”
Subscription Tier
“Claude Team plan for all employees”
Unlimited Pool
“Draw from our enterprise credits”
What Companies Are Actually Doing Right Now
Based on what's being discussed on X/Twitter, here's how companies are approaching AI budgets in 2026:
Big Tech: $100/Month (But It's Not Enough)
A former big tech employee reported their company rolled out Claude Code with $100/month per employee—but “people burn through it in 2-3 days.”
Source: @pvncher on X (1,276 likes)
Startups: AI Credits as Part of Compensation
“My 2026 business plan... hire smart people, pay them above market, give them AI credits.”
Source: @Codie_Sanchez on X (779 likes)
Forward-Thinking Founders: $400/Month Mandatory
“If I ran a company tomorrow, every employee would get a $400 monthly 'AI Boost Package': Max plans for Claude Code and Codex. If you don't use up your token quota by the end of the month, you pay back the difference.”
Source: @yuanhao on X
Agencies: Unlimited AI Budget
“At my short form / podcast agency, we use AI to make our team of 15 operate like a team of 100 with an unlimited AI budget.”
Source: @zolihonig on X
Token Budget Is the New Headcount
“The question isn't 'do we have enough devs' anymore, it's 'do we have enough Opus credits to keep agents running.' Compute budget is the new headcount budget.”
— @BradAI on X
This shift is happening faster than most job seekers realize. Companies are allocating AI budgets the same way they once allocated hardware budgets or professional development stipends. The question is: are they allocating enough for you to do your best work?
What Does a “Good” Token Budget Look Like?
Based on current industry discussions, here's how to interpret the answer you get:
| Budget Level | Monthly Amount | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Bare Minimum | $100/month | Power users burn through this in 2-3 days. You'll hit walls. |
| Reasonable | $200-400/month | Covers Claude Team + Copilot. Adequate for most knowledge workers. |
| Strong | $500+/month | Claude Max or ChatGPT Pro tier. Company invests in your output. |
| Best-in-Class | Unlimited/Pool-based | Enterprise credits. Draw what you need, with usage monitoring. |
| Red Flag | “We don't have one” | You'll pay out of pocket or fall behind. Proceed with caution. |
AI Stipends: The Emerging Benefit Category
According to Compt's 2025 Midyear Lifestyle Benefits Benchmarking Report, “AI and emerging tech” was the #2 professional development spend category—second only to traditional learning and development.
Companies are increasingly formalizing AI access as a structured benefit, similar to education stipends or wellness programs:
Common AI Stipend Uses
- ChatGPT Pro / Claude Team subscriptions
- GitHub Copilot
- Perplexity Pro
- AI courses and certifications
- API credits for experimentation
Implementation Models
- Fixed monthly allowance
- Rolled into professional development budget
- Enterprise seat allocation
- Reimbursement for approved tools
- Shared credit pool with monitoring
Why “No Budget” Is a Red Flag
When companies don't provide AI budgets, employees use personal accounts. This creates “Shadow AI”—unsanctioned use of AI tools that creates security and compliance risks:
The hidden cost: Employees paste sensitive company data into personal ChatGPT accounts. There's no audit trail, no data retention policy, and no enterprise security controls. Many companies are discovering this gap too late.
A company without an AI budget isn't just being cheap—they may not have thought through AI governance at all. That's a signal about their overall approach to technology and employee enablement.
How to Ask the Question
Asking about AI access doesn't make you look demanding—it signals that you're a modern professional who understands the tools required for high performance. Here are natural ways to bring it up:
During the interview:
“What tools does the team use for AI assistance? Do employees have access to Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot?”
When discussing the offer:
“I use AI tools extensively in my workflow. What's the company's policy on AI access and any associated budget?”
Asking about culture:
“How is the company thinking about AI enablement for employees? Is there a standard toolkit or budget for AI tools?”
The Multi-Model Reality
According to recent research, 43% of employees now use at least two different LLMs for different tasks. The days of “just give everyone ChatGPT” are over.
How Employees Split Their AI Usage:
ChatGPT
Quick, generalist activities
Claude
Technical or compliance-heavy tasks
Gemini
Large-scale summarization, research
Copilot
Microsoft ecosystem integration
Only 18% of companies rely on a single model. The best employers let you access the right tool for the job.
The Bottom Line
AI access is no longer a perk—it's infrastructure. Just like you wouldn't take a job without asking about your laptop or your health insurance, you shouldn't take a job without understanding your AI access.
The companies that understand this are investing $200-500/month per employee in AI tools. The ones that don't are leaving you to figure it out yourself—or fall behind.
Land the Job, Then Negotiate the Tools
Before you can ask about AI budgets, you need to land the interview. Landera optimizes your resume for every application—so you can focus on asking the questions that matter.