Why IT firms are moving beyond token maxxing
BENGALURU: As enterprises race to deploy GenAI, a new challenge is emerging for IT firms: token maxxing . Tokens-the units consumed whenever large language models process information-have become the fundamental currency of AI. But after an initial wave of experimentation, IT services companies are increasingly warning that relentless token consumption without measurable business outcomes could become the industry's next cost problem.
Token maxxing treats AI consumption as a measure of productivity, pushing employees and enterprises to use increasing amounts of compute and tokens. The term gained currency in Silicon Valley, where the double "xx" in "maxxing"-borrowed from internet and gaming slang-denotes aggressive optimisation. As enterprises move from pilots to large-scale deployments, IT firms are increasingly focused on linking token usage to business value rather than raw consumption. Arumugam Kumaradassan, vice-president and head of AI industrialisation and enterprise IT automation at Cognizant, said, "Tokens are an input to delivery, not a measure of value, and token consumption is simply a cost signal, tracked for discipline, licence governance and capacity planning. When token consumption is treated as the primary metric, costs scale linearly with demand without a corresponding return in business outcomes."
Kumaradassan said the company has implemented metering and value-linkage capabilities that connect token consumption to business workflows and outcomes. "As the industry moves towards outcome-based models, token spending will reveal the cost of achieving those outcomes," he said.
At Happiest Minds, executive vice-chairman Joseph Anantharaju said the company is developing capabilities for token metering and optimisation as enterprises scale agentic AI deployments. "I think that's going to be very important-the ability to meter it," he said.
Token maxxing treats AI consumption as a measure of productivity, pushing employees and enterprises to use increasing amounts of compute and tokens. The term gained currency in Silicon Valley, where the double "xx" in "maxxing"-borrowed from internet and gaming slang-denotes aggressive optimisation. As enterprises move from pilots to large-scale deployments, IT firms are increasingly focused on linking token usage to business value rather than raw consumption. Arumugam Kumaradassan, vice-president and head of AI industrialisation and enterprise IT automation at Cognizant, said, "Tokens are an input to delivery, not a measure of value, and token consumption is simply a cost signal, tracked for discipline, licence governance and capacity planning. When token consumption is treated as the primary metric, costs scale linearly with demand without a corresponding return in business outcomes."
Kumaradassan said the company has implemented metering and value-linkage capabilities that connect token consumption to business workflows and outcomes. "As the industry moves towards outcome-based models, token spending will reveal the cost of achieving those outcomes," he said.
At Happiest Minds, executive vice-chairman Joseph Anantharaju said the company is developing capabilities for token metering and optimisation as enterprises scale agentic AI deployments. "I think that's going to be very important-the ability to meter it," he said.
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