Chipmaker NvidiaNVDA

might be raking in billions from selling AI chips, but one thing is certain: nobody else is breaking even on their big AI investments. Big Tech giants like MicrosoftMSFT

, MetaMETA

, GoogleGOOGL

, and AmazonAMZN

spent over $125B on capital expenditures for their AI data centers last year — and with plans to increase spending even further this year, tech companies are charging customers for AI products, whether they want them or not.

• Last week, Google announced that it would add “free AI features” into Gmail and Docs for commercial customers, but earlier announced that it would raise the monthly price by $2 to $14).
• Microsoft followed suit by increasing the price of its Office subscription, Microsoft 365 — families will pay 30% more ($130/year) and individuals will pay 43% more ($100/year).

Features nobody asked for: While AI applications have proven potential, they have not been significant drivers for customers or businesses. AI PCs, TVs, and smartphones took center stage at CES, despite new AI assistants not driving sales for handset makers like AppleAAPL

or Samsung. And among businesses, AI use is still speculative at best — there’s a dearth of reliable data on how small businesses are using the tech. Further, larger corporations that piloted Microsoft’s new Copilot AI churned because of the service’s high cost and lack of useful features. It underscores new urgency in tech companies, rushing to profit off their lopsided AI investments, even if it means forcing AI into other products to justify its relevance.