Inference costs grow quietly until traffic crosses a threshold. By then, reactive optimization creates quality regressions.
Control points that matter
- Dynamic model routing: Use smaller models by default and escalate only when needed.
- Token budgeting: Set explicit response length and context limits per feature.
- Caching strategy: Cache stable intents and deterministic outputs where possible.
Governance principle
Every feature should have a target cost per successful outcome. If the value metric is unclear, optimization discussions stay abstract.
Operating rhythm
Review cost trends weekly at feature level and pair engineering with product to decide tradeoffs.
