Even as they rush to capitalize on the boom, software makers struggle to put a price tag on AI services that cost money each time users submit a prompt, reports Ina.

The big picture: Most software-as-a-service products run up relatively modest server bills, but AI requires advanced hardware and runs it at capacity — and the current craze has created high demand for "compute," the AI industry's shorthand term for processing power.

Why it matters: Historically, software profits have been based on the assumption that you write code once and make big profits from each new incremental user, but AI's dynamics are scrambling that model.

State of play: Here are a few approaches companies have taken to cover the cost of delivering generative AI features.

• Microsoft charges for its AI-assisted copilots, including those in Office and GitHub, with prices ranging from $5 to $40 per user per month. Some copilots are included with certain enterprise subscriptions, while a number of Microsoft's consumer AI services remain free for now.
• Box includes AI features for business customers who've subscribed to its Enterprise Plus tier and above. Each user will have access to 20 queries per month, with 2,000 additional queries available on a company level. Additional usage will require further payment.
• Adobe is including a varying number of "generative credits" with its various free and paid plans for Creative Cloud, Express and Firefly. Starting November 2023, Adobe will offer additional credits via subscription, with plans starting at $4.99 per month for 100 Credits.

Between the lines: Companies are weighing whether to view generative AI features as selling points for existing services, or as new products.

• Box CEO Aaron Levie told Axios he wanted to ensure that customers could experience the new AI features without having to add an extra charge. "We're really happy about this model," Levie said.

Microsoft, by contrast, already has more than 1 million paying users for the GitHub copilot that helps programmers automate their coding efforts and will sell the Microsoft 365 copilot for Office starting Nov. 1.

Be smart: Companies are also eyeing several ways to limit the added cost associated with delivering generative AI features.

• More work will also shift to run directly on PCs and smartphones.
• "The system is going to optimize for what can be done locally and then the cloud, based on what you need. And that's going to be a huge offset of cost," Adobe chief strategy officer Scott Belsky told Axios.

Yes, but: Even as companies become more efficient in handling today's tasks, new uses that require the cloud will keep emerging.

Hiring for tech jobs involving AI is surging, even though the tech industry shed hundreds of thousands of jobs over the past year, writes Axios' Emily Peck.

Why it matters: AI is not only fueling the stock market — driving companies like Nvidia to new highs — it's adding a little juice to the job market, too.

Driving the news: The number of active job posts advertising openings in AI increased 22% in the three-month period ending on Oct. 11, according to data from Comprehensive.io, cofounded by Roger Lee, who started layoffs.fyi.

• AI engineering jobs paid about 20% more than non-AI software engineer roles.

Zoom out: The rollout of ChatGPT in November 2022 kicked off an AI boom.

• "We're seeing a 21-times increase in job postings," LinkedIn's chief economist told Axios in August.
• Workers are responding to the boom by adding more AI keywords to their profiles.

The other side: AI is also driving job losses. The Biden administration's executive order on AI includes a directive to look at the technology's "labor market impacts," including job losses, while also mandating federal agencies to create "Chief AI Officer" roles.

The bottom line: AI giveth, AI taketh.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai testified in federal court Monday, defending up to $26 billion a year in deals that lock in Google Search as the default on the vast majority of devices and web browsers, reports Axios' Ashley Gold.

Why it matters: Pichai is the highest-ranking Alphabet executive to appear in court during the company's antitrust trial.

What they're saying: The Justice Department's lawsuit argues that Google has unfairly maintained a dominant search position with such agreements, hurting rivals, advertisers, and consumers.

• Pichai said such agreements are well worth the cost. He was lead negotiator of Google's renewed 2016 agreement with Apple, and wanted to keep the agreement to make sure Apple didn't direct search queries from its Safari browser to Google's rivals, he said.
• Pichai said advancements in artificial intelligence would make Google search more innovative.

The intrigue: Throughout case proceedings, the DOJ has taken issue with Google marking internal documents as "privileged" and destroying certain communications.

• DOJ attorney Meagan Bellshaw asked Pichai if he copied Google's top legal officer Kent Walker on emails when he wasn't seeking legal advice but wanted information to remain confidential. Pichai defended his communications as normal practice.

What's next: Judge Amit Mehta is not expected to issue any decisions until next year, and appeals are expected. A separate trial would establish any remedies if Google is found liable.

Embark Studios' multiplayer shooter The Finals is generating buzz for its sudden popularity and its use of AI for in-game voices, reports Axios Gaming author Stephen Totilo.

Driving the news: Nearly 250,000 concurrent players took up a free trial of the game Monday. The Finals is now in beta on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.

The intrigue: The game's use of AI voice acting for lines shouted midmatch by in-game announcers has drawn heat.

• Professional voice actors have sounded alarms over the threat that AI could take their jobs, with SAG-AFTRA members making the issue central in talks over a new union contract (and a potential strike).

What they're saying: The Finals uses a mix of human voice-work and AI-generated text-to-speech (TTS) conversion, Embark's communications director Sven Grundberg tells Axios.

• Real actors, recording their lines in the traditional way, allows "chemistry and conflict" and "adds depth to our game worlds that technology can't emulate," he says.
• "Other times, especially when it relates to contextual in-game action call-outs, TTS allows us to have tailored voice over where we otherwise wouldn't."

The bottom line: Discussion over AI is linked to how it'll impact people, including those whose work overlaps with what AI can do.

• "Making games without actors isn't an end goal for Embark," says Grunberg.

• Here's the full text of President Biden's AI Executive Order.
• Google is investing $2 billion more into OpenAI rival Anthropic. (Axios)
• The SEC is charging SolarWinds and its top security executive with misleading investors before the firm's high-profile hacking in 2020. (Axios)
• Former Wikimedia Foundation head Katherine Maher is the new CEO of Web Summit. (Irish Times)
• On tap: The Senate subcommittee on employment and workplace safety will hold a hearing on AI and the workforce Tuesday 10am ET, with testimony from Accenture, Workday, American Bar Association and Black Tech Street leaders.

And because I am Australian and it's Halloween, I give you this very important 4-year old link to a video of koalas and capybaras in pumpkins.