Meta and Microsoft are reportedly reducing employees’ use of Anthropic’s Claude while encouraging company-backed alternatives. Microsoft has lowered its projected internal Anthropic spending by roughly one-third, while Meta’s Claude Code user count has fallen from about 60,000 to around 30,000.
The figures originate in The Information’s October 5, 2026 report, which relies on unnamed sources. Accessible accounts from PYMNTS and The Decoder describe a push toward GitHub Copilot and OpenAI models at Microsoft, and Muse Code and MetaCode at Meta.
Neither change establishes a confirmed split with Anthropic. Microsoft’s reported response leaves engineers free to choose other models, and moving work into Copilot does not necessarily eliminate Claude from the underlying workflow.
The more consequential question is whether Anthropic can keep expanding inside customers that also have strategic reasons to promote competing products. Model quality may win employee enthusiasm without determining where corporate budgets go.
Microsoft Reportedly Cuts Its Anthropic Spending Forecast
According to PYMNTS’ account, Microsoft had been on track to spend approximately $1 billion during 2026 on internal use of Anthropic’s technology. That projection has since fallen by roughly one-third.
This is a reported revision to an expected annual bill, not an audited disclosure that Microsoft canceled a particular contract or recovered money already spent. The accounts do not provide enough detail to establish how much of the change comes from fewer users, lower consumption, different model choices, or tighter budgets.
The spending covers several uses of Anthropic technology, according to PYMNTS, including Claude Code and Claude models within Microsoft’s Copilot. It should not be treated as a Claude Code-only budget.
The Decoder’s coverage says Microsoft executives directed employees toward GitHub Copilot and OpenAI models. Those alternatives belong to different categories: Copilot is Microsoft’s coding product, while OpenAI supplies models and is not a Microsoft-owned model developer.
PYMNTS also says a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the company has been steering staff toward GitHub Copilot, while engineers can still choose other models. That supports describing the change as an internal preference or procurement shift, rather than a blanket Claude ban.
