Fig. 01 · Glossary
AI Tax
Also known as Forced AI Bundling, AI Uplift
Definition
The AI tax is emerging buyer vocabulary (2025-2026) for forced AI bundling: vendors adding AI assistants and features into standard tiers and repricing renewals accordingly, with reported uplifts commonly in the 15-40% range. The defining feature is the absence of choice - the increase applies regardless of whether the features are wanted, enabled, or used. Buyers increasingly push vendors to price AI separately, and unbundled tiers or waivers are granted more often than renewal quotes suggest.
The negotiating move is unbundling: make the vendor price the AI features separately, then decide on the merits. “I don’t use it and don’t want to pay for it” is a position vendors are hearing at scale - and quietly accommodating for customers who ask directly.
Human Renaissance glossary · operator-grade definitions · Research methodology
