US outlet The Information reported on October 6, 2026 that Microsoft and Meta are reducing their employees’ use of Claude. Microsoft cut its projected internal Anthropic spending by more than a third, and the number of Meta employees using Claude Code fell from about 60,000 at the start of the year to about 30,000. Both companies are keeping Claude available to customers and moving only the tools their employees use to their own products.

Anthropic logo Anthropic logo

What was reported

The Information’s original article is paywalled; this account is based on reports by Digital Today, Channel Insider, and Yahoo Finance that cite it. Neither company officially announced the cuts, and a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that it changed the default model for internal AI coding to OpenAI’s models but that engineers can still choose Claude.

Item Microsoft Meta
What was cut Projected internal Claude spending Claude Code users
Scale Cut by more than a third About 60,000 → about 30,000
Moving to GitHub Copilot, OpenAI models MetaCode, Muse Code
Claude for customers Still offered Not applicable

Microsoft makes OpenAI the default model

Microsoft logo Microsoft logo

According to the reports, Microsoft expected in early 2026 to spend at least $1 billion (₩1.4 trillion) a year on internal Claude use, then cut that projection by more than a third. In the Cloud and AI organization of more than 60,000 people, most employees’ monthly AI usage limit was cut from $100,000 (about ₩140 million) to $10,000 (about ₩14 million).

It reduced Claude Code subscriptions and had employees use models through GitHub Copilot, whose auto mode sends most queries to OpenAI models. Digital Today reported that because of its relationship with OpenAI, Microsoft doesn’t pay separate usage fees for those models.

Jay Parikh, who leads Microsoft’s developer tools business, reportedly wrote in an internal memo in August that shifting more work to OpenAI models yields greater value from our token investment.

Meta moves to MetaCode and Muse Code

Meta logo Meta logo

Users by internal coding tool at Meta Users by internal coding tool at Meta — Source: self-rendered from The Information’s report (cited by Digital Today and Channel Insider)

Claude Code users inside Meta fell 50%, from about 60,000 at the start of 2026 to about 30,000. Digital Today reported that the main reason for the drop was the expansion of in-house coding tools, with spring layoffs having a smaller effect.

  • MetaCode: internal-only coding tool, more than 30,000 users
  • Muse Code: based on Meta’s own models, being tested to compete with Claude Code, about 6,000 users
  • Claude Code spending: more than $105 million (about ₩147 billion) over the last 28 days

According to Stocktwits, Meta used Claude while building the Muse agent and switched to its own models at launch.

Claude for customers stays

Microsoft continues to offer Anthropic models for a fee through Microsoft Foundry, and is reported to pay at least $2 billion (₩2.8 trillion) a year in Anthropic model fees just for the Copilot features it provides to customers. There are also reports that because customer-side spending grew, the total Microsoft pays Anthropic is similar to its peak for the year.

On paid GitHub Copilot plans you can pick Claude models directly from the model picker, and Azure customers can use Claude through Microsoft Foundry.

Impact on Anthropic

Concept image of moving internal coding tools to another model Concept image of moving internal coding tools to another model — Source: concept image · self-generated with agy

The reports came as Anthropic prepares for its IPO. Reuters reported that a draft of Anthropic’s IPO filing leaked on September 28 states that, of 2025 revenue of $4.59 billion (about ₩6.4 trillion), two customers each accounted for 12%, together nearly a quarter. The two customers weren’t named.

The same draft reportedly also listed the risk that many major customers use it without long-term contracts and could cut or stop spending. Digital Today noted that OpenAI and Google are offering lower prices, and more companies are looking for cheaper alternatives.

What to watch

  • Anthropic’s IPO schedule and the customer concentration figures in the official filing
  • Official positions from Microsoft and Meta, especially Meta’s Claude Code usage policy
  • Whether the GitHub Copilot default model change applies to customer products as well as internally
  • Whether Muse Code’s internal testing leads to an external product

Sources