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  "path": "/_9de8b28cd0a409b80cfdc/put-a-cost-budget-around-every-ai-feature-55h",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-02T07:15:06.000Z",
  "site": "https://dev.to",
  "tags": [
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    "typescript",
    "architecture"
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  "textContent": "AI applications often select models using quality benchmarks. Production systems also need an economic constraint.\nA feature that works technically can still become unsustainable when usage grows.\nDefine a feature budget\ninterface AIFeatureBudget {\nfeature: string;\nmaximumCostPerRequest: number;\nmaximumLatencyMs: number;\nminimumQualityScore: number;\n}\nThe budget belongs to the product feature rather than the provider.\nconst supportReplyBudget: AIFeatureBudget = {\nfeature: \"support-reply\",\nmaximumCostPerRequest: 0.02,\nmaximumLatencyMs: 2500,\nminimumQualityScore: 0.85\n};\nEstimate before execution\ninterface ModelCandidate {\nmodel: string;\nestimatedCost: number;\nestimatedLatency: number;\nqualityScore: number;\n}\n\nfunction eligibleModels(\ncandidates: ModelCandidate[],\nbudget: AIFeatureBudget\n) {\nreturn candidates.filter(candidate =>\ncandidate.estimatedCost <= budget.maximumCostPerRequest &&\ncandidate.estimatedLatency <= budget.maximumLatencyMs &&\ncandidate.qualityScore >= budget.minimumQualityScore\n);\n}\nThe cheapest model should not automatically win. A failed or unusable result may cost more once retries, support work and customer churn are considered.\nRecord actual economics\ninterface FeatureUsageEvent {\nfeature: string;\ncustomerId: string;\nmodel: string;\ninputTokens: number;\noutputTokens: number;\nactualCost: number;\nlatencyMs: number;\nsuccessful: boolean;\n}\nThese events allow teams to compare estimated and actual costs, identify expensive workflows and calculate cost per successful task.\nVectorNode is developing this AI economics layer for model-powered products: infrastructure that connects model usage with product and cost decisions.\nA model request is a technical event.\nIts cost is a business event.",
  "title": "Put a Cost Budget Around Every AI Feature"
}