AI Agent Cost Optimization

The cheapest unnecessary agent step is the one you remove.

Start with architecture

• Use deterministic workflows when the path is known.
• Limit maximum turns and delegation depth.
• Expose only relevant tools.
• Retrieve only relevant context.
• Cache stable tool catalogs.

Choose models per task

Routing, extraction, summarization, planning, and complex reasoning do not necessarily need the same model tier.

Measure cost per successful outcome

Raw token spend is less useful than cost per completed support case, research report, or deployment task.

Include tool costs

External APIs, browser sessions, GPU jobs, database scans, and search calls can exceed model cost. Trace all of them.