Microsoft employees reveal AI spending at work: Median usage hits $300 a month A new column in Microsoft’s employee-shared pay spreadsheet offers a glimpse into workplace AI adoption, with hundreds of workers reporting their monthly spending across teams. By CNBCTV18.com August 26, 2026, 12:30:14 AM IST (Published)
Microsoft employees are now tracking how much they spend on AI tools at work.
A new column in the company’s annual pay spreadsheet asks workers to report their AI spending over the past 28 days. The column, titled “AI $ Usage Per Month,” is the latest addition to the employee-shared spreadsheet. It offers a rare look at how much Microsoft workers are spending on AI tools.
The spreadsheet had nearly 600 compensation entries from Microsoft’s US employees when Business Insider analysed it. Around 350 employees had also shared details about their AI use. The median AI spending was about $300 over 28 days. The highest reported figure was $28,000, recorded by an employee in Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions. In Azure, 33 employees reported their AI spending. The median was $241, with figures ranging from $1 to $7,500.
In Cloud + AI, 107 employees reported their spending. The median was $325, while the range was $1 to $15,000. CoreAI had 14 entries, with a median spending of $975. The reported range was $40 to $16,000. In Experiences and Devices, 69 employees reported a median AI spending of $250. Their figures ranged from $1 to $3,391.
More Read
Microsoft AI had 15 entries, with a median of $490. The reported spending ranged from $45 to $10,000. In Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions, the median was $134. The figures ranged from $1 to $28,000.
Security employees reported a median AI spending of $526, with figures ranging from $58 to $10,000. Microsoft had 2,23,000 employees as of June 30. This means the roughly 350 AI usage entries provide only a small snapshot of how employees across the company use AI. Business Insider also excluded teams and job levels with too few entries.
In addition to this, Microsoft employee data also reveals base salaries, annual raises, cash bonuses and stock awards across different levels and teams at Microsoft. At Microsoft’s level 59, employees reported base salaries ranging from $111,000 to $134,000. At level 60, the range was $115,000 to $155,500.
More Read
At level 61, reported base pay went from $113,000 to $177,000, while level 62 employees reported salaries between $100,200 and $192,800. At level 63, salaries ranged from $136,400 to $218,000. At level 64, the range was $140,000 to $245,000. For level 65, reported base salaries ranged from $169,000 to $263,900. At level 66, the range was $200,000 to $272,000.
The highest level included in the analysis, level 67, had reported base salaries between $239,100 and $280,000. (Edited by : priyanka deshpande)
Home Technology News Microsoft employees reveal AI spending at work: Median usage hits $300 a month
